Remember me?
by Cactuslotus
Summary: The game is over, the kids beat the game and live on Earth believing SBURB was just a dream. But did they really beat the game? When old villains come looking for those who don't know who they are, the newly reminded have questions. What happened in the game? Where is everyone? Do you remember me? (Warning for dark material)
1. Chapter 1

_"Jade?" Calliope asked in surprise. The glow- I had seen this glow before as Jadesprite right before I went dog tier. The only problem was I was already god tier and wearing my god robes right now. But that would mean I'm not dreaming..._

_"I'm dead!" I was going to reawaken soon. "Calliope! I'll come back for you! I promise!" The shimmering lights yanked me from the little green curtained stage._

I sit up gasping, feeling my chest like I expected to find myself injured. I flopped back down in bed just as my alarm chimed off. Just as I thought I could sleep through it the barking started up, growing louder as paws pattered their way down the wood floor and into my room.

"Shut it Bec! I'm up! I'm up!" I groan, turning off the alarm. Bec nuzzled my arm as the other reached for my glasses. "You stop that." Bec gaze me big round brown puppy eyes before nuzzling again.

I got out of bed, hoping in the shower quickly before making my way down stairs. I was just barely pulling cereal out when I spotted the clock. I grabbed an extra sandwich from the fridge instead before hustling out the door with a backpack in tow. I managed to pull the door closed without dropping my bag or my lunch before running down the block.

"I'm going to miss the bus! Way to go me!" I huffed under my breath. Sometimes I wish I could teleport or fly or had some way of getting up in time for the bus. I spot kids loading onto the bus, immediately running faster. I manage to get on the bus just in time.

I collapse into my usual seat on the bus in the third row. "Wow Jen. Late again?" My friend laughed.

"It's not my fault, I swear."

"So you had one of your weird dreams again?"

I sigh, looking down at the floor. "Yes, I had one of those dreams again."

"So what was Jade Harley up to this time?"

"I was role playing a troll with Calliope in one of the dream bubbles and started going dog tier, but I was already dog tier."

"I thought you could only do that once?"

"That's what I thought."

"Did you see the fella with the pointy shades again?"

"Nope. No Dirk."

"I like Dirk."

"So does Jake."

"Of course you pair him with a guy. What's next? Calling them Sweet Dirk and Hella Jake?"

"Hey, don't mix up the boys."

"What are they going to do, leap out of your imagination to correct me?" The mental image of the two boys jumping from my imagination just to correct her made me laugh. I almost wish the would. I am not Jade Harley, but actually Jennifer Helary. I sort of looked like Jade with my big front teeth and round glasses, even the shape of my face, but it stopped there. No dog additions, no god tier powers, no hair like a night sky, no smooth skin, and my eyes weren't lime green. I was what you would call ordinary with my grey eyes, my slight acne, clumsy at times, long dusty hair tied back in a braid, and parents long gone on a trip to China. It was just me and my dog Bec, who I named after the Bec from my dreams.

First period I spent eating my extra sandwich I managed to grab earlier while pretending to pay attention in chemistry. I knew everything that was being taught anyway, so it's not like I'm missing anything.

Second period I struggled to stay awake because on top off being tired it was pre-calc. I knew this subject well because I was great with math. I was about to nod off when the bell rang and I had to rush off to my next class.

Despite the comments in third period of 'It's so boring Jennifer is falling asleep' and 'timber!' every time I almost started snoozing on my desk, I stayed awake. Only for world history at this point would I stay awake. As soon as the bell rang for lunch I was out cold.

_I was floating just above my quest bed as soon as my eyes opened. I scanned the landscape with urgency. I could see the forest in flames, a fight near the lava, and the Condense's looming ship over where the tower of my house had started. "Jade?" Dave's slightly hushed voice asked from just a bit to my side. I looked over to see him staring at me in surprise._

_"What's going on? I go to talk to my grandpa for one minute and as soon as I get back to my senses all hell breaks loose."_

_Dave hugged me, a complete surprise on my part. "Missed you Jade." I heard the sound of something else falling over in the distance. We both look over to see something collapsed into the lava, sending up a glowing red spray._

_I turn my head back to Dave. "Let's go."_

"Jade, the bell just rung." The teacher shook my shoulder. I got up, realized what he just said, and started trying to get out the door. Of course I manage to trip over the only textbook left out on the floor and manage to knock over a desk. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just getting back to class." I stood up only to find I'd scraped my knee.

"How about you go to the nurse's office instead? If anything you can get a nap in while your down there."

I felt something drip down my face, touching just a moment before looking at my hand. I managed to give myself a nosebleed with a desk. "Nurse's office sounds like a good idea." I agree before holding a hand under my nose.

I was of to the nurse's office. With my record of hitting my head on fire extinguisher box and tripping on flat ground, I have gotten to know the lady in the nurse's office. You wouldn't believe my surprise when I found a tall, slender, white haired man in the nurse's office as pale as a porcelain doll. It was even worse when I thought he looked familiar.

"Nosebleed and scraped knee." He pulled out a bandage as he talked, not even looking at my note. "Come over here."

I walked over cautiously, not sure if I should trust this guy or not. He sat me down quickly before handing my some tissues. "Who are you?"

"I'm being a substitute school nurse while the current is out."

"I meant what's your name?"

"Just call me Mr. Scratch."

It clicked why he was familiar. "Doc Scratch?" I whispered.

He froze, looking over at me. "Did you just call me Doc Scratch?"

"Sorry, I-" I quickly shut up as he leaned closer, staring straight into my eyes.

"So you do remember me?"

"I- what? You're a made up character! My imagination made you up to get over being alone, so you can't be Doc Scratch. And you're dead! The green sun killed you!" I leaned back as he leaned a little closer.

"Unfortunately, I didn't stay dead. Your dear friend with the Capricorn symbol reentered the code before his demise. Lord English is awake already, so killing me again doesn't wake him, but he does need to be let out. So, care to tell me how?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Patch cover up I suppose. I expected better, but no matter. It will be pulled down soon enough and then you will have to tell." He pinned my against the wall before pulling a vial from his pocket, lime green slime catching my attention. "I knew there had to be one of you here. After all, I can see many things, but for some odd reason there was a blank here." He flicked off the vial cap with his thumb before forcing the contents down my throat.

I shoved him away hard, sending him flying back into a wall. I gagged on the stupid slime, appearing in the janitor's closet. A few of my dreams came to mind. No, not dreams, memories- memories hidden deep down trying to come to light.

I felt strange all over, noticing my hair was fluffier, getting longer and growing darker. I moved to cover my eyes and two giant black wings moved to shield me. I spun to try and see if it was a prop hidden in the closet only to realize they were mine. My shoes were hurting my feet, so I kicked off my flats only to realize they were changing to. Wait a minute... I reached up and touched my head to feel furry dog ears.

If it weren't for the wings I would look like Jade Harl- no, I am Jade Harley. I knew deep down that the life I lead as Jennifer was a lie. My friend was real, the students, the staff, the school, the average Joes and Jennys, but the life and family of Jennifer Helary was a lie that never really existed here. Made up, pretend. I just can't remember why.

Why was I in this fake life? Did we beat Lord English? What happened to everyone else? It was because of SBURB if I had to guess. I needed to find the others.

For a moment I wondered if my eyes had changed as well. A quick check with my phone proved it right. "Damn it." I muttered, knowing I can't just walk out of this closet looking like this. I pulled off my school vest, unimpressed with the school uniform, tossing it on the ground along with my phone before teleporting home.

Bec was barking up a storm as soon as I appeared in the living room, bouncing around off furniture and running circles around me. I walked straight up stairs, searching through my clothes for something to help hide my appearance. I managed to find tights, immediately pulling then on and a baggy sweater to pull over my wings. "Why the hell do I even have wings?!" I growled as I tried looking for another baggy sweater. I pulled a baggy sweatshirt on over the sweater, satisfied with my appearance in the mirror before spotting my feet. "Ugh, why do I have stupid dog feet?"

I remembered my fake father has big feet and went to my parents' room. I open the closet, searching through until I manage to pull out shoes that weren't my fake mother's. I pulled them on slowly, hoping they fit. They barely fit.

Another look in the mirror and I remembered my hair. It actually looked like I was looking at the night sky. I retied my hair in a tight braid before pulling up my hood. I actually looked sort of normal if it weren't for my bangs. I tried doing something to hide them, but gave up soon enough and let them hang in my face.

If anywhere knew where the others were it would be a library or a university even. How hard would it be to miss gray skinned children with horns? Unless, they disguised themselves too, but maybe there were some sort of abnormality I could track them by. I poured out a big bowl of dog food for Bec before I left. My friend would probably drop by to see if I was here and find Bec, so I better make it look like a bad enough scene for her to take Bec. I tossed things around, knocked over some shelves, made a mess of the place before kicking over the open dog food container and tossing the fridge with telekinesis.

Bec was having a blast eating things out of the fridge, ripping through lunch meat. I scratched his head. "You're a good dog, Bec."

"Good boy! Good boy!" Bec danced around happily. I'm not sure why I'm surprised I can understand my dog, but at least he was happy. "Best friend!" Bec licked happily at my hands. I heard someone approaching the door, teleporting into an air vent to watch.

"Jennifer...?" My friend slowly opened the door. She looked scared, calming only a little when Bec trotted over. "Bec! Oh, what happened?"

She pet his head before pulling out her phone. I could hear the person on the other line.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, my friend is missing and her house is completely trashed!"

"What's your name?"

"My name is Clara Benty."

"Well Clara, I'm going to send some police. What's your friend's name and address?"

"Her name is Jennifer Helary-" at that point I teleported to the back of the university library. Time to get reading.


	2. Chapter 2

The university library was huge, like I expected. I walked along past all the books until I found a computer. I searched up several things from gray skinned children to strange happenings across the world all to no avail.  
"Ugh." I flop down on the desk in defeat.  
"Hey, did you need help with something?" A boy asked me nervously. He had an armful of books, which blocked his face. "My name is Jake."  
"My name is Jade. You wouldn't happen to be Jake English, would you?" I asked him.  
"Yeah!" He dropped the books on the desk next to mine, face lighting up when he spotted my face. "And you're Jade Harley, right?"  
"Yes!" I hugged him tightly.  
"Ah! Stop... wings!" Jake gasped, pain edging in his face.  
"What?" I let go immediately, looking for any sign of them through his clothes.  
"I know, I don't remember them either. I don't remember a lot of this." Jake lifted his hat a bit to show a pair of white dog ears. "But I've been struggling to find the others."  
"Well, we're both from this town-"  
"Actually, my aunt sent me state side from down under. Unfortunately, I was attacked by a cat and a man in a white suit and then... then this! I came here hoping I could fix what's wrong with me only to realize I'm just back to normal. I can't go back though, not after what happened, but they let me stay here."  
"Who is they?"  
"Some dorm students let me stay with them. Don't worry, no scientists."  
"How much can you remember? My memory only covers up until Dave and I spot the Condense's ship near the volcano."  
"My memories don't get much farther I'm afraid."  
"So you also have no idea where everyone else is. Why is this so difficult!" I searched through my memory just to be disappointed that I didn't remember. I had an idea. "You stayed away from peanuts, right?"  
"I couldn't remember I was allergic to them for a bit. My aunt never gave me peanuts, so I didn't know, but I remembered when I had some a week ago." He frowned.  
"How do you not remember that you're deathly allergic to peanuts?"  
"I just didn't. Second peanut related death, but I came back. Golly, that was stupid on my part."  
"Hmmmm..."  
"Hmm?"  
"Hmmmmmmm." I turned around, typing in death by peanuts. I searched through the results even as Jake leaned over my shoulder to read the screen.  
"Um, Jade? Why are you looking up peanut related deaths?"  
"Maybe John is on here." I found a report that caught my eye. "Kid dies of peanut allergy, up the next day." I recognized the face of the kid in the picture. "How do you two not remember your peanut allergies?"  
"I don't know!"  
"Me neither." I click the link next to the picture of John, reading over it. "Says his friends gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a hiking trip and he went into shock. He couldn't seem to get to a hospital fast enough and died before anyone could save him. The next day he walked out the dead bay in perfect health. He's in Buffalo, New York."  
"Should be easy to find him!"  
"Yes, especially with your help." Doc Scratch noted. Jake and I spun around to face the tall man in white. His eyes flicked between us. I immediately get ready to toss him back and Jake got in position to pull out his pistols. "Ah, ah, ah. You wouldn't want to reveal yourselves, now would we? In a place like this, with so many cameras to catch all the angles?" He smiled," Doesn't seem like a bright idea now does it?"  
"You can't do anything without revealing yourself either." I shot him a glance as I shut down the computer, stepping away as it powered down.  
"That's the difference between us. I don't care if I'm caught, and things aren't as you remember from your session." Scratch took a step forward as Jake and I took a step back. "Why not come along quietly?"  
"How about no." His hand slowly slipped into his coat pocket. I spotted the butt of a white pistol as he pulled it out. There are to many people in the building for this. "He's got a gun!" I yelled, immediately getting screams from the building goers.  
"That wasn't very polite of you. You had to ruin the surprise for your slow relative here."  
"Did he just call me slow?" Jake asked.  
"No matter, I will have you both in a short while anyway." He held up the pistol.  
I jumped in front of Jake in time to see Dirk in front of us. Last time I checked Dirk couldn't teleport, nor was he anywhere near here.  
"Back away from my boyfriend." Dirk swung his katana at Doc Scratch. Doc Scratch didn't seem up for the idea.  
"I have a heir to find." He stated. A moment later I saw the cat, growling before I caught myself. A moment later the two vanished in a flash of green.  
Dirk walked right over to Jake. "Damn. You just seem to be getting hotter all the time."  
"Okay... that's not Dirk." I look over to Jake in confusion.  
"It's a shame you don't have those smooth legs anymore, but I'd be lying if I didn't say the ears are cute." Dirk's hands slipped under Jake's hat.  
"Stop it! I almost died! Again!"  
"Shhhhh... No need to over react about that. I have it under control." Dirk seemed to move closer to an already uncomfortable Jake.  
"Jake, what is going on?"  
"Brain ghost Dirk showed up." Jake whimpered. He backed away from Dirk. "It happens sometimes, not on purpose though! It's one of my hope power things."  
"I hope this isn't what you want from Dirk."

"It's not!" Jake stopped suddenly. I heard a noise from near the door, turning to look. It went black after that.

_"Wait, you're supposed to be dead!" Aranea looked over in shock. "How are you alive?!" She managed to find her way out from under the Condense's trident in before the Condense tried pinning her again. The Condense's foot found it's way on her back. I reached for her outstretched hand. She smiled when my hand slipped around hers, and the look on her face turned to fear when I pulled the ring off. _

_She faded away as the ring no longer held her in the world of the living. The Condense found it funny, until I shrunk her down. I had a blade in hand, driving it down on her tiny form in a small splash of fuchsia. I looked to the sky, knowing I had to find Roxy. I had a promise to fill, and I needed Roxy to help me do it._


	3. Chapter 3

_Rose was carrying Roxy when I appeared. "Jade?" Rose asked, sounding as if she couldn't believe it was me. "Your not grimdark anymore."_

_"What are you talking about? I was never grimbark Rose."_

_"You don't remember? I guess it is for the better you don't." She looked back to Roxy's sleeping form in her arms before looking back up. "Did you need help with something?"_

_"I need Roxy's help actually." I stepped forward, slipping the ring smoothly onto one of Roxy's fingers. _

_"Shouldn't we wake Roxy so she knows what to do with the ring?"_

_"She will know what to do."_

I opened my eyes, looking over to see Jake sleeping in a pile of blankets not far from me, one ear flicking to the side. The first thing in noticed was the big pair of white wings on his back, a soft glow from the feathers that made them look pure white even in the dark room. He was just wearing shorts, which let his wings lay out around him and his paws hang off the pile. He snored really loud, fluffy tail occasionally moving.

Sitting up I noticed I had been sleeping in a pile of blankets as well, pulling them back to see they were piled on top of a cot. Weren't we at the library last? "Jake... Jake, wake up." I shook him roughly. He stirred slowly, stretching a moment before sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"What is it Ja-" Jake started asking, stopping quickly. He looked around quickly, coming to the realization that we weren't in the library.

"Do you remember what happened right before we fell asleep?"

"I was unfortunately busy dealing with Dirk." Jake looked off to the side with drooped ears. "I don't really remember."

"Did you remember anything while you were sleeping?"

"A bit. I remembered the strange troll fellow with the wings and codpiece. I never learned his name, but he was fighting Terezi before switching over to Karkat and ending up fighting both. I had thought he got himself into a bit of a pickle until he managed to get out of it."

"I think I know who you're talking about. I spotted him on the way over. Anything else?"

"The last part was blurry. I saw him again, but my vision seemed to be spinning at the time, like right after I had taken quite the beating from the bloody devil of a sparring bot Dirk sent me. Either way, it didn't look like it was going to end well when you woke me up."

"That can't be good." I thought back to what I could remember. "What could you make out of it? Anything stand out?"

Jake thought about it, concentration across his face as his brows knit and eyes were force closed. "I think I spotted two trolls. I was on my side at first, but then I was moved. I saw a hand close to my face... wait." He brought his hands up to his head. "She had a simple ring, but I don't remember her having a ring before. The bracelets and other jewelry yes, but never any rings on her fingers."

Oh no, not her. "What, please tell me you aren't saying who I think you're saying."

"It depends. Were you referring to sea hitler?"

"I was referring to her yes."

"Oh, um... would you rather I lie?"

"But I killed her when Terezi was still fighting near the lava! Unless that ring was the one I gave to Roxy, then in that case it makes sense." I kicked out at the wall. "But the ring was for Calliope! How did she get it?"

"I don't know!" Jake looked upset. "I just want to go home! Either one, whether it be my island or Australia. I want out of this mess, I want to just be a normal kid, and I don't want this weird form! Why do I even have dog ears!" He threw his hands down, a shower of sparks lighting up the room. He looked terrified. "What the bloody dickens was that?!"

"Wait, how are you combined with a first guardian?"

"A what?!"

"White, teleports, green sparks."

"Like the cat. I'm like the cat!" He dropped to his knees with his head in his hands.

"Um, Jake?" He didn't respond to my question for a while seeing as how he was shoulder deep in what seemed to be a mental breakdown. "Jake, it's going to be okay." He was just freaking out on the floor much like John did after watch Con Air with me. I'm done with boys and their antics, but I can't exactly leave Jake without knowing he's safe, so I just flopped into the pile of blankets near my feet and waited for him to calm down.

He ended up falling asleep again a few moments after he calmed down. "Jake... Come on... Get up... Jake." I was trying to shake him awake again. He remained asleep.

I picked him up, opening the door to see where we were. I just saw a hallway. In a moments notice it's good bye Miami and look out Buffulo. Still no clue what Jake was doing in Florida, but time to find John. Jake was still sleeping away in my arms. I spotted a rickety treehouse, sitting down inside a moment later.

The air is cold, and the treehouse threatens to fall out of this tree a few times, but otherwise things were going well. I try using my captchalogue, finding much to my delight that it still worked. I pulled check through them, finding my god robes. I couldn't exactly wear this in public, at least not all of it. I put my hood back, knowing that my hood would really stand out, but the rest of it didn't quite look the same. Extra details I didn't remember and parts that made it a bit more elaborate. Honestly, it looked amazing, but it was a bit to attention grabbing for something I had to wear everywhere. I put it on anyway.

I fell asleep waiting for Jake to wake up.

_I was back where I had left Dave, but something wasn't right. I could see Karkat trying to fight the troll with a codpiece on, Terezi already coughing teal onto the ground. Jake was just standing there, watching in a mix of confusion and concern. Purple blood was everywhere, yet when I look over to the troll who's blood it is he is still going at it. Something in his hand went flying back and nailed Jake in the head, almost knocking him into the lava. I snapped my fingers so he was up on the leveled top floor of my house instead of risking getting accidentally nudged into the lava. It was just me, him, and the dead body of the Condense up here._

_I had to get them to stop fighting_.

Wait, Jake is still regular Jake. That means the Condense will be coming back.

_I land right between the fighting trolls, lifting The purple one helplessly into the air and out of reach_. _"What is going on here?" I ask, exchanging glances with the trolls_.

I have to move Jake! I have to get going!

_"Well?" I looked around again, slowly. The purple troll is yelling all sorts of things, but none of them explain what's going on. Ninja-fucking-swa-something?_

I need to move! No, this is a memory- I can't change any of it, can't do anything I didn't. I have as much control over it as someone watching a movie.

_"Jade?" Karkat dropped his arms from a fighting stance._

_"Yes, it's me. What's going on here?" I ask in frustration._

_"Gamzee almost killed Terezi, that's what's going on here. I let him live for too long when I should have killed him. No more of this one side morailegence, I'm not letting him hurt anyone else!" He growled, glaring at Gamzee before clenching his closed hands tighter around his sickles._

_"Maybe not your best idea, beach." I know that voice. I turned to see the Condense standing at the edge of the lava. She raised a hand and I felt something in my head. I dropped Gamzee before trying to force her back out of my head. Everything blurred, and then I felt nothing at all._

"Jade! Wake up!" Jake was shaking me awake hurriedly.

"What?" I sat up quickly.

"We're in a treehouse!"

"I know that. Welcome to Buffulo." I yawned, hopping to my feet.

"Buffulo?" Jake asked confused.

"The article said the John was from Buffulo, remember?"

"Oh yeah. What was his name again?"

"We are looking for a Jeffery Ebert, 16, who is a LARP loving nerd."

"What made you think that?" Jake asked confused.

"He went on the hiking trip while he was in costume."


	4. Chapter 4

==} John  
Oh great, the voice telling me what to do again, just like back in the game. But this isn't the game. If it was the game I would be hearing the voice more telling me to do this and do that, stop English and shit on my desk. Why did it want me to do that anyway? Who wants some kid to just go take a shit on his desk while squawking like a bird anyway? It doesn't make any sense at all!  
I was Jeffery until around a week ago, but now I'm John. It makes sense now why my parents aren't around so often, being fake and all. But, why now? Why did I have to figure it out now of all times, just as things seemed to be looking up? I had gotten popular at school for being fastest runner on the track team, was aiming for valedictorian, and finally landed a date with someone who wasn't just another empty person needing to prove themselves to be popular by being with me.  
The door bell rang and all I could do was huff in annoyance knowing it probably wasn't Daniel, or rather Dave as he found out around the time I got out of the hospital. I wish silently it's him as I open the door, just wanting to see someone I actually invited at the door. "Hello?" I start before the door is completely open.  
"Jeffery, is it?" The woman talking asked. Great, another suit stuffer combo at my door looking for me.  
"Yes." I sigh. When will Dave show up?  
"We wanted to ask a few questions, is that alright?" The woman asked calmly.  
I knew if I said no they would just come back later like the other two times. "How many questions?"  
"Not many." The woman stated, her partner clearly glad they were getting somewhere.  
"Fine, I'll answer."  
"Great." She held out her hand, quickly being handed the clipboard her partner had been holding. "Did you know you could come back to life?"  
"No, I'm just as surprised as the next guy."  
"Anything you noticed different since coming back?"  
"The people in suits coming to my door is new."  
"Anything else?"  
"I don't like this question, can't you move on? Please?"  
The woman gave me a questioning look, but she nodded. "Would you mind coming with us? We have already permission from your parents to investigate further."  
"Who are you guys?" I asked nervously. This took a bad turn quick, like a movie with some strange being in it and federal agents.  
"We said so at the start of this conversation, but I understand if you forgot. I'm Katherine and this is Allen, and we are from the federal bureau of investigation."  
Shit. What do I do now. "I, uh, I rather not go with you guys. Please stop coming to my house."  
"Wait, Jeffery, this is serious." Katherine stated. "I know this probably is all very confusing for you, but understand that we just want to help you. We are just as confused about this as you, alright? Come with us so both of us can try to understand what's going on."  
"You won't understand! My life was going well until this happened! I had friends, I had great grades, I even had a date I was looking forward to, but now it's over! My great life died the day I decided to try peanut butter. When I woke up in a body bag it was ripped to shreds and I have to worry over who will be at the door. Now go away!" I slammed the door, locking it behind me as I dropped onto the floor.

I could still hear her through the door, knocking away like it would make me open it. "Jeffery, please open the door." Her muffled voice sounded from the other side of the wood.

"Go away!" I shouted back. My phone buzzed and I checked it, breathing a sigh of relief that it was Dave.

**yo john people are banging on your door**

**good news is it's a chick**

**bad news is she is way too old for you**

I rolled my eyes before texting back.

**You know it's one of the suits again!**

**yeah but I sort of was invited so maybe **

**you can tell me if the back door is locked**

**or should I climb in a window**

**I'm going to unlock the back door right now. **

**mission impossible right now you don't even know**

I walked over to the back door to see Dave already waiting. I unlocked it, letting him in before locking it again. "Mission impossible huh?"

"Hey, those suits might be after me next. They already come asking about you." Dave flopped onto the couch.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'm the idiot who made you a peanut butter ands jelly sandwich."

"You didn't know." I sat down on the couch. "But what am I going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Dave looked over, shades slipping to reveal his now red again eyes.

"I mean the have permission to carry me off from my 'parents'. What if they find out?"

"They won't, alright?" Dave pulled me into a deep hug, head resting on my shoulder. "They have a duel with a knight before they can drag you away."

"Really?"

"Yes really. Why would I say that and say no? Hey John in distress is callin, I'm just going to tell him hell no. Remember that friendship thing we've had for a while? No? Well to late. The strider train is already on its way to save your ass like a its on the nonstop movie cliche tracks. Chuga-chuga fuck the haters. Metaphors just got serious."

I couldn't help but smile. "Wow Dave."

He leaned back, nodding in approval when he saw my face. "First time I've seen you smile since the accident."

"How can I not smile when you're being a dork?"

"I am not a dork. 100% cool kid right here and you know it Egbert." Dave snapped in a z shape sassily, and all I could do was laugh. "No, stop being adorable right now. The smiling was good, but the laughing is going to drag me into it."

"No it won't!"

"Alright, but I guess I need to silence you myself." Dave pressed his lips to mine. I put on a frown and shot him puppy eyes when he stopped. "Hey mister no-homo getting a little too homo over here."

"You going to say that every time I kiss back?"

"Maybe. You just look too cute for your own good, making me think of when you wouldn't kiss me. It's almost like you were teasing me on purpose."

"I wasn't. Swear, cross my heart."

"No one does that after elementary school."

"Well I just did." I smile. Our lips just barely met again when I heard the doorbell. Great, they realized I have a doorbell. "I'll be right." I huff, hopping up and heading for the door. I tossed open the door again, glaring at the two still at my door. "Will you leave already? Please?"

Katherine held out a cell phone for me. "It's your mother."

I gave her a confused look, slowly putting the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Jeff, go with the nice lady at the door alright? We told them it was fine to check you over." My mother's voice sounded.

"I don't want to."

"Honey, I know you're scared, but they just want to check on you. It's not like in the movies; the check on you for the weekend, then bring you back, that's it."

"Mom I... I sort of... you know..."

"You have a date with your gay friend planned for this weekend don't you?"

"Way to make it awkward." I whispered hurriedly into the phone, hoping the agents weren't hearing any of this.

"Can't you just move it to Monday? It would definitely make Monday better."

"It's already a bit late for that."

"Ahh! I'm just imagining it right now!" I almost dropped the phone, caught off guard by her sudden increase in volume. "Maybe he can go with you!"

"That is a terrible idea. He doesn't like hospitals, and I don't think they will let him tag along."

"Hmm... I'll talk to the agents. Hand them the phone."

I held the phone back out to Katherine. "She wants to talk to you." Katherine took the phone back, saying a few things right as I stopped paying attention and nodding in agreement. She held the phone back out to me and I took it. "Hello?"

"She said your boy toy can go with you."

I almost dropped the phone in shock, fumbling with it for a moment before nervously holding it back up to my ear. "Please tell me that's not how you explained him."

"I didn't refer to him as boy toy, calm down." Suddenly her tone dropped from joking to serious," Jeffery, please go with them. I just want to know that you'll be alright."

Great, now I felt bad for making her worry about me. I looked back and forth between her and the agents. "I'll check to see if Dan is alright with it first." I held the phone out to the agents, who took it back, before going back to Dave.

"Dave, I have to go with the agents for the rest of the weekend. My mom made them agree to let you come along if you wanted."

"Your kidding right? You don't have to go with them you know. You can just disappear." Dave stood up, holding my hands in his.

"I know I can, but what if SBURB is just a nightmare? What if we're just crazy? I don't want to believe my real dad is dead, or that I can turn into the wind, or that our friends might die any second. And if SBURB was real, what do we even know about what happened to us when we went god tier? Dave, please... I'm scared."

"No, John, it's alright." He hugged me. "I'm not letting you fall for this. You are fine, you're not going to disappear."

"What about the weapon." He froze as soon as the words left my mouth. We both knew what I was talking about- the ultimate weapon against Lord English. Is far as we both knew... well, that's the thing. We both knew nothing about what could happen to me.

"Are you sure?" Dave asked firmly.

I have seen enough movies to know this was probably a bad idea, but my worry over what could happen had been pulled up, and that was worse than scientists I could escape. I nodded. "Please come with me. I don't want to do this alone."

Dave took a deep breath. "Let me get my bag from the couch. You should probably grab a set of clothes too."

"Thank you!" I hugged him tightly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying up the stairs. I just quickly tossed some clothes together before heading over to the stairs. I tripped over the banister with a yelp- how I don't know- and whipped up the wind to stop my fall. I lightly landed on the ground.

"Why did you do that?"

"It wasn't on purpose, I sort of tripped over the banister. Why?" I noticed his eyes flick to the side, slowly following his eyes to see the two agents were staring at me. They must have heard me when I fell over the banister. At that moment I thought I had a heart attack.

"How did you do that?" Allen the agent exclaimed in shock.

"I... I don't really know? The wind just does that." I already was nervous about the whole situation, but the way the two were staring at me just made me feel worse. "Sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong, we are just surprised is all. Are you alright though? We heard you from the door." Katherine definitely looked concerned.

"I was just surprised I fell over the banister. I'm fine."

"Are you ready to go?"

I knew deep down I probably shouldn't, but I nodded anyway. "Yes."

The agents lead us both out to their car. Dave and I got inside, exchanging glances once we were inside. We were clueless what could happen. I laid my head on his shoulder, hoping we would be alright.

==} Be the dog girl


	5. Chapter 5

Lots of people didn't want to talk to us, but the library never slams the door in your face! After some research, a few checks, and half a box of dog biscuits, I knew where John was. I teleported Jake and I directly into his house. The house was silent.  
"Is he not here?" I looked around, walking all over the house trying to find him. "He's not here! Where did he run off to."  
"Well, maybe there's a way to track him down?" Jake commented, looking around.  
"Yup. I'm going to have to sniff him out. Can you teleport on your own?"  
"Unfortunately no." Jake frowned.  
"What about the sparks?"  
"That's about it for me."  
"Okay then." I started sniffing the air, hoping I could catch wind of John. I teleported along the rout I sniffed him until I spotted the building at the end of the trail. "No... Seriously John?"  
"He's in there, isn't he?" Jake eyed the building behind the chain link fence that was decorated in barbed wire. We exchanged concerned glances before I dropped my head. Why did the boys keep acting stupid? I watched closely from our location in the flora not far away, squinting a few times like it would magically let me see past the sparse blackened windows.  
"Yes. What is he even doing right now?"  
"What should we do? If they have cameras they will know our faces, and they must be fairly strong to have captured John!" Jake's ears were pinned back his glance bouncing from me to the building. As he toyed with the edges of his god tier duds an idea came to mind.  
"I have a plan."  
==} Be the windy boy  
Seriously, what is with that voice? I looked over to Dave, wondering if he heard it too. Apparently he did not. I was done trying to look around me as I walked down the hall, instead I just stayed close to Dave with my focus on the ground. The agent in front of me was probably saying something important, but I don't care at this point.  
My heart wouldn't stop beating so loud, ringing in my ears. The agents opened the door to one of the rooms, which unlike the last one was not a doctor's office look alike. Instead it looked like a weird tube thing. Turns out it's for MRI's.  
Dave was holding my hand so I would stop messing with the bandages around my arm, and during the time he has been doing that I haven't let go. Honestly, I was surprised they weren't acting like scientists from the movies, but the doesn't change the fact I hate hospitals. The machine in front of me just made me nervous. So far my whole time here felt like one, big, hospital trip with more lab coats in sight instead of the usual scrubs.  
Dave must have felt me tighten my grip again, because he squeezed his hand back. I looked over into his red eyes, barely spotting them out the side of his shades. I didn't even want to think of being in the tiny machine. I just wanted to go home and forget about this... but I had no plans and no clue what to do.  
Funny thing about being in the open sky and knowing the joy of riding the casual breeze is that you can't go back. Stuck in a building on the ground, looking up longingly at the crystal clear skies with a gentle breeze or the swirling deep grey as the wind howls and tosses things around and all it's in betweens. A small room without windows was almost painful. Looking through my closets made me feel like there wasn't enough air. Staring at the tube barely bigger than a person made me hope they really weren't planning on putting me in there.  
I thought I was about to die when they motioned for me to come closer. I'm surprised Dave has any circulation with my grip on his hand. "Jeffery, can you come over here?"  
"I don't have to get in that, do I?" I ask nervously.  
"Yes you do. Is there a problem?"  
"I really don't want to go in it."  
"Jeff-" The talking was cut entirely as two winged people flashed into the room from thin air. They had dog like features and wings, lots of detail in the clothes they wore and the olden style look of the way they dressed. What they were wearing on their heads hung slightly over their faces, blocking them partially from view. They both grabbed onto me and Dave and in a flash of green the room around me disappeared. I was back at my house with Dave, with these two winged dog people standing over me.  
Much to my surprise I was starting to recognize them. "Jade?" I questioned, receiving a nod as she pushed her hood up on top of her head. "Jake?" He tossed back his hood with a big smile across his face. It was them, and I almost couldn't believe it.  
==} Be the dorky dog girl  
John looked like he was in a state of shock. The other boy smelt familiar, and with his shades almost falling off it was obvious who it was. "John, Dave, do you guys have any idea where the others are?"  
"Wait, so SBURB is real?" John asked. I gave him a confused look.  
"Well yeah. How else would I know you since we haven't met since. I know you from SBURB." I barely got the words out of my mouth before my vision blacked out.

Blurry images flashed by and I could see it hurry past. The Condense, finding Jake a mangled mess of boy and dog, getting the ring back, Roxy finding Calliope, Jake coming back, John reappearing, finding ways to hack the game, hacking to make the trolls god tier, and the last fight of the game. The images started slowing down so I could the speed the flashed in my mind was back to normal as we all stood on the platform. 

_"But what if he escapes?" John asked, looking from the massive cage that held Lord English back to the group. _

_Dirk turned his head to John. "Then you should probably kill him then. You are the ultimate weapon against him."_

_John had a look of failure, looking down at the ground. "If John doesn't want to kill him he doesn't have to! The game says we won, can't we just be happy with that?" I wrap an arm around John's shoulders._

_"Look, win or not, he might escape somehow." Dave spoke up. "If we aren't going to kill him now, then we should at least be prepared in case we need to later. One of the Makara's might still be around, or someone who wants him free, and I know I don't want them finding me before I can end English for good."_

_"So you want us to go undercover, like a SBURB witness protection program?" Jane asked seriously. "Hide in plain sight?"_

_"I believe that might work." Rose stepped forward. "I propose we scatter out, hide as new identities, and lead out normal lives at least until it is necessary to kill Lord English, or Caliborn as you four have called him." Rose motioned toward Dirk, Jake, Roxy, and Jane. "Just to be certain we don't have to return."_

_"I say we hide our memories entirely." Karkat speaks up, sickles at his side. Along with Jake and Sollux, Karkat hated his god tier robes and refused to wear then. "Hide our appearance, hide our blood color, hide our memories. We can lead out normal human lives, and if someone finds one of us during those life spans we know we will have to finish off Lord English, if they don't we know we are safe. Just make a disguise that lasts as long as a human's average life span, and if it wears off we know no one is looking for us."_

_"What if it turns out that someone is looking for us? How would we find the others and snap them out of it?" Dirk questioned._

_"It has to be something only someone from the game would say." Karkat looked like he was thinking._

_"What about 'I know you from SBURB'? It sounds a bit different from suburb and shouldn't be in the new universe." Roxy noted._

_"Great idea Roxy!" Calliope smiled, hugging her with a smile._

_"Roxy, Calliope and Jade, you will have to manipulate things so this plan will work. We need to be scattered far enough to not grab attention but close enough that if one of us hears the phrase or is snapped out of it that we can group up."_

_"Since it's a version of Earth, why not stick to places that speak the English since that's the language the phrase is in?" Jake stated. He nervously rubbed the back of his ears. It was strange to see his appearance had changed to be like me; dog eared, big wings on his back, sharp canines showing a bit in his nervous smile, tail sticking out the back of his shorts, and shifting from pawed foot to pawed foot. "And have two of us close together in each place so we can help look for each other in case we have to?"_

_"Sounds like a good idea. Let's get this started." I smiled. John reached forward, doing a quick once over of everyone standing on the platform before claiming the reward._


	6. Chapter 6

_"I'll go with Callie to England." Roxy smiled._

_"Is England a cool place?"_

_"I seemed to be cool from what I saw in moves. I don't really know for sure. No harm tryin' anyways."_

==} Be the girl in detention

I scrubbed the linoleum floor, dunking my scrub brush into the bucket of soapy water and ending up splashing water and bubbles on the floor. The floor was supposed to be white, but after all the rain several students tracked in mud, and I know Abigail probably messed up part of the hall before telling the headmaster I put frogs in her pillowcase. I barely got the satisfaction of hearin' her scream echo down the hall before I was given detention.

I heard a wet slipping sound before being hit in the back off the head with something hard and wet, looking down in time to see the scrub brush hit the floor. "Sorry Rosaline!" Callie got up from where she had slipped, walking over slowly before grabbing the brush. It was still ridiculous that she joined me every time I had detention. She didn't have detention or anything, she just came along and joined me despite the many times the teachers would tell her not to. Eventually the stopped trying to stop her, so here she was scrubbing along with me.

"It's alright Callie." I smiled. She smiled back, but then stopped, lime green eyes looking just over my shoulder. I followed her line of vision to see one of the teachers walking towards us with a quickened pace. I exchanged glances with Callie before I looked at my watch. Detention wasn't over yet.

"Miss, I know this hall isn't done, but to be fair I still have two hours of detention and Abby tossed a bunch of dirt on the floor right when I was halfway done an-"

"This isn't about your detention." The teacher interjected," A doctor came to the school saying that a portion of the school food was contaminated. He's examinations to the all the students except you two to be sure none of the students ate any of it."

"So, do I get out of detention?" I looked the teacher in the eyes. She sighed, but after a quick look around the hall nodded. I was up on my feet in seconds, dragging Callie along behind me. I waited till the teacher was out of sight before starting up the chit chat. "We got out early, finished homework, and it's a Sunday. Ready for a night of debat'ry?"

"Please don't say that so loud. We are in a school after all and you don't really mean any of it at all," Callie did a quick check of the hall before adding," but if meant video games and snacks then yes."

"Yeah! Let's knock out the doctor guy first though."

"You mean metaphorically right?"

I let the question hang in the air a moment. "...Maybe."

"Not again."

"Look, I'm just sayin' that last one was to close to me."

"She was checking your temperature."

"Sure she was." I opened the door, seeing the tall guy instantly. He looked kinda weird with his white hair even though he looked young, and his eyes were a bit green for him to have albinism like I do. "You the doctor?"

"Why yes. Sit down if you wish, I have to get some things in order."

"Are you American? 'Cause you sound American."

"No, I am not American."

"Why is your hair white?"

"It just is."

"Give me da science!"

"My body ran out of pigment for hair at an early age."

"Mine did too, but at least I look cool."

"You are quite the hyper child. What are your names?"

"I'm Rosaline Lavox and this is my bestie Callie Offray."

"Odd names for two British girls. You remind me of two girls from a story I read. They were named Roxy Lalonde and Calliope."

"What story?"

"Oh, I can't remember the title, but it was a story with action, adventure, friends, powers and strange worlds. It was about them playing a game, the symbol sort of looked like a house, but I can't remember the name."

Callie was about to say something, but I quickly cut her off. "That sounds pretty cool. Hey, can I go grab Callie's medicine real quick? She has to take it at seven ever' morning and evening for her condition."

"Yes, you two better go then, but come right back afterwards."

"Aye aye doc." I hurried out with Callie, quickly going out the door.

"Why did you lie to the doctor? I don't have a condition."

"Because the guy knew about SBURB. He can't be good news."

"Wait, why? I have dreams about SBURB, and that doesn't make me bad."

"Callie, you're not bad because you were a player, but that guy? He's not a player. I know all the players who got out but I don't know that guy."

"What are you talking about? It was just a dream, a story."

I stopped, turning to face her. I held both her hands now, knowing I had to wake her up. I remember it to clearly.

_"I'll still know, just incase something happens. Callie would be the hardest to hide if something happened, so I need to remember." I stated calmly. I looked down at Callie, sleeping away peacefully in a puddle of blonde curls against my shoulder. Her disguise made me almost do a double take from how unfamiliar she looked. _

_I looked up to see Jade nod. "Remember, just say-"_

"I know you from SBURB."

Callie blinked and in a moment I could see her eyes widen. "Wait, that wasn't real? The boarding school, my parents... I'm not real."

"You're real. Sure you had a different name and face, but you were still the sweet Callie I know and that's how I know you're real."

Calliope was a bit upset though. "I don't really like how I look."

"You are adorable now, then, and always. Come on, let's leave creep doctor guy in the dusty. We've got ta find the others."

Calliope nodded, running with me as we continued on completely undetectable. The forest was our new friend that would be difficult to track us through for mister creeperific back there. I had used these woods as a shortcut before. First things first, we had to get to America! Then Australia, cause I could leave my boys out of the fun.

==} Be a doll


	7. Chapter 7

I am back again only to try again, toiling on without the strength I once had. I remember when all the concerned me was getting children to stop cheating and wanting to die over English. In all honesty it was stupid and a wasted effort. Gcat is a bother like she always is, purring and teleporting me places I don't want to be.

I sat on the wall, sighing before looking back at the cupcake in my hands. I miss the way things were, when things made more sense, but that's enough with the down thoughts. Oh no, I will be having no more of those downward mood spirals today. I brushed my bangs out of my eyes before staring at the cupcake again.

I lost track of the others, with no clue where to look. I thought I had found them, but by the time I got somewhere to check they were long gone. If only I could teleport like Gcat or Jade, but I can't no matter how much I hope it will work. The library might have some leads, maybe. I could use the computer to search... but that didn't work with anyone really except John.

I am a useless doll, only good for sitting around and looking pretty. Damn these mood swings! I need to find them...

Gcat appeared before me. "Hello there. You actually going to help me this time?" Gcat just walked up before hopping up on the short brick wall next to me. She sniffed at the cupcake before her face looked at me, completely white as always. I knew she wanted to get a bite of the cupcake, even though I know she is going to hate it. "You're going to hate it." I stated, to wich she meowed. "Fine, I wasn't going to eat it anyway." I set it down next to her, to which she excitedly dived in. "What do you know, you like black licorice."

She looked up at me, and I immediately braced myself. Green danced in the corners of my eyesight as words grumbled and yelled in several tones in my head.

**Help? You need help?**

I nodded. "I can't find the other. I've tried, but it isn't working."

**Hunt.**

"Hunt them? I'm terrible at tracking. Not everyone gets senses like your's."

**You just big dumb cat. Hunt, you find them because cats good hunters.**

"I don't know whether to be offended or not." I started stroking her. "Maybe they will be somewhere just out of sight?"

**Angry horn cat with blindfold horn cat.**

"Are you talking about Karkat and Terezi? Where are they?"

**Track them.**

"I have to convince you huh?" I sigh, hopping off the wall before heading towards the nearest butcher shop. I bought a big fish with what I managed to earn, heading back to the wall. Gcat was on the fish in seconds, tearing away at it happily. "Where is the angry horn cat?"

**Movie town.**

"Movie town?" A moment later images of film studios flashed in my mind, the Hollywood sign, and a house. I knew that had to be the house. "Thank you my furry friend." Gcat finished the fish, looking over to me before the scenery flashed green to leave in front of the house Gcat had showed me. I shot a smile Gcat's way.

**Hunt Doc.**

I straightened my white suit jacket before thinking about my next move. I need a thorough plan if I don't want these two to get away like the others.

==} Be swimming with your sister

I splashed Teresa again to be awarded with a splash of water to my face. How the blind girl was beating me in a pool splash fight I will never know, except that she claims she can smell colors and loves the smell of red. Apparently I smell very red, especially when she says something embarrassing.

"Karkles! Can you point me in the direction of the steps?" Teresa asked. Her 'sense' never worked at finding the pool steps. She claims it's because they blend in too well and because they're under water, which messes them up even more. I gently pull her along as I swim over to the steps, leading her out with me. "You don't have to get out too."

"It's boring without someone else." I barely get us out of the pool before the nanny was there. I still don't get why our parents insist on have a nanny watch us still when we're sixteen years old, but she does helped keep another eye on Teresa since her accident. It was weird, but when Teresa lost her eyesight, she claimed a magic dragon taught her how to see in new ways. Dad ate the stories up and even used them as ideas for new programs.

I sort of miss him hanging around. Ever since one of his stories kicked off he hasn't been home, and since mom is the leading lady for the series, neither is she. The stories that filled my dreams and Teresa's became the inspiration for his stories. Every time I woke him in the middle of the night with another nightmare he would listen, told me to keep journals. When he couldn't find something to write a new show with, I gave him every paper from journals to scraps I had written and doodled over in hopes of inspiring him. It worked, and he now has a show of a science fiction drama about an alien outcast in a society of aliens.

I appear as the main on the show when the character has flashbacks, and it's made me surprisingly popular on the internet. In fact, I refuse to look up the character's name after I had tried the first time and stumbled across that *wonderful* picture of the character when I was playing them. I wish I could erase that image from my memory, that I could unsee that. Teresa is the close friend when the main character has flashbacks.

I thought using my idea would be great, but it just leaves a bad feeling deep inside like it was supposed to stay hidden. Curled up on the couch was normal for me now, the sinking feeling getting heavier everyday as it soared in popularity. Something in me screamed in resistance at every extra detail I gave my dad. But what could I do? I could stop telling him, he would understand and he even offered to stop the story when he found out it was bothering me, but I just couldn't anymore. I felt like I had to tell him, like it would make me feel better like it did when I was younger.

Sitting up at the sound of the door unlocking, I knew my parents were going to walk in any moment now. "Carlos, Teresa, we got pizza." The walked in, setting the boxes on the table. I was sure they probably wanted me to come over, so I got up. Teresa found her way like she had eyesight, quickly grabbing a slice and eating it. As soon as I stepped into the well lit room I had dad's attention. "You not sleeping again?"

"I'm fine."

"What's wrong?"

"Just the nightmares again. Can't bother me if I don't sleep." I grabbed a slice of pizza.

"Is it the clown one again?"

"It's a lot of things all at once, but yes."

"You really need to sleep. The bags under your eyes are really heavy."

"Alright, I will."


	8. Chapter 8

Something was wrong. My stomach ached and I felt like my temperature was burning up. The beeps of a monitor sounded off to the side, but worst of all was I remembered. Something wasn't right here, but I can't remember why I remembered. What triggered this? Was it something that happened while I was asleep?  
I slowly opened my eyes, but they quickly closed again when they met the bright light above me that burned to look at for even a moment. Why was it so bright? I tried sitting up to feel a hand on my chest pushing me gently back down again. I listened to the slight electric crackle as there seemed to be people talking around me. Wait, was I on set for some reason? That can't be right, because if I remember then that means my disguise would drop- I sit up quickly, backing up when someone's hand met my chest again. It took a moment, but my eyes adjusted to the bright lights just enough to see even if my head started to throb.  
The people standing around me were in hazmat suits surprise visible on their faces. I was just as surprised as they were. "What's going on? Where am I?" I looked between the faces. What happened to Terezi? Was she here too, or was it just me?  
"Hello Carlos, your house was broken into last night. A strange man tried poisoning you in your sleep, so you're parents brought you to the hospital. When your skin started turning gray you were moved to a special conditions unit. How are you feeling?"  
Poison. I had been killed in my sleep by some nut job. "I was poisoned?"  
"Yes, but something happened to you. Instead of dying, you turned into something."  
"I didn't die?"  
"Well, we thought you did, but a moment later your heart started up again."  
I looked down nervously to confirm that I indeed was back in my normal body. I could see my yellow claws, gray skin obvious against the white sheet around me, the bump of my grub scars on my sides. I reached up and felt my ears to find them slightly pointed again. My tongue moved along the edge of my teeth, feeling the sharp points. I had a rousing suspicion, reaching back slowly to touch my back for my hands to meet soft membrane.  
This couldn't be happening, not now. My life had been going well. I had a loving family, I didn't have to hide from enemies and drones but instead fans and admirers at most, I had great grades, a rather laid back life. Sure telling my story made me uneasy, but I rather be thinking it's just a dream than knowing all the times Crabdad refused to let me leave the hive or would rush me inside when I got so much as a scratch were real.  
"Carlos? Carlos, are you alright?"  
"Is something wrong?"  
"Hey, is he alright?"  
I looked up at the three people in hazmat suits looking at me in concern. I looked around, seeing the blank walls and the blank floor and the blank ceiling with lights that were giving me a headache. I had to get out of here, but how. "I want to go home. I just want things to be normal again."  
"We can't, I'm sorry sweetie. We don't know anything about your condition. We can try making things more comfortable, but that's about it."  
They weren't letting me leave. Seeing as I am an alien it made sense. I didn't want to be around when they realized it, but it was hard to concentrate with these nauseatingly bright lights.  
"Anything bothering you?"  
"The lights hurt my eyes." A moment later all the lights except one were flicked off. I hadn't realized I had been squinting until now, finally able to see without a headache. The three seemed concerned, eyes locked on me. "What?"  
"Your eyes are yellow."  
"Huh?" I had almost forgotten humans have weird eyes. One of them went out the door, returning after a few tense moments with a mirror. It was so weird to see grey irises again and black hair, but then the yellow really hit me. Is this what my eyes looked like in the dark? The yellow looked like it was glowing. I haven't ever stopped to look at my eyes in a mirror because it's a huge fucking waste of time, but looking up at their faces then back down to my reflection I seemed so different. I better look different being another species though.  
I needed to get out of here. I need to stop being distracted, but what was I going to do? How far could I get if I made a run for it in a quarantine zone? Probably not that far. New plan, just act like you own the place. As soon as I tried getting up off the bed I was on I realized I had no clothes on.  
"What happened to my clothes?!" I yanked the sheet up and around me. I understood not having a shirt, but I didn't have anything on. I could feel my face burning at my realization that they probably hadn't been there in a while.  
"As you may have noticed there are several differences, and when you suddenly changed they were removed while we ran some tests."  
I just stared at them for a moment before continuing to get up with one hand holding the blanket against my chest. I managed to get ahold of one of the ends and brought the end over my shoulder so I could pin it under my hand also. I grabbed the other end and brought it over my head so it looked like a make-shift cloak. I went over to the door and opened it as the three started to protest, but I left them behind. I have things to do and places to be, even if I can't remember what they are clearly.  
This room had a bunch of other things and then another door. I managed to rush out the other door even as the guy yelled in protest. Man, for a quarantined area their security sucked.  
I walked down the hall quickly in just my bed sheet. I received many confused glances, and at one point the hall goers seemed to realize I wasn't where I should be. A doctor guy hurried around the corner, then stopped when he spotted me.  
"Carlos Vanpyro? Is that you." I was surprised a moment, but I nodded. The doctor guy gave a soft smile. "They let you wander huh?"  
"They thought tried stopping me, so I have to go with no."  
"No? Good thing I got the results. You aren't contagious."

"Good to hear." I tried to walk past him, but he spun me around.

"Good to hear that you're going back to your temporary room as well."

"Nope, I'm leaving."

"Leaving? But there is a lot to go over."

I didn't like mister sunshine over here, but before I could get around him he tossed me over his shoulder and headed down the hall.

==} Investigate the crime scene


	9. Chapter 9

"I can't believe this." Terezi was back to normal, but Roxy put another disguise on her. Her red hair bounced with her pacing steps and she didn't even bother looking up with her blindfold blocking us from view. "Doc Scratch is back? Didn't Rose kill him?"  
"We can't figure out why he's back, but at least we know it's easier to break him." I recalled when I had caught his scent, teleporting inside in time to see him pull away from Karkat's sleeping form. I had nailed him in the head as hard as I could to see his head shatter. I teleported away to dump off Doc Scratch in the local trash heap, but when I came back it was too late to do anything about Karkat because Doc Scratch came back not to long later with Gcat in a flash of sparks. "We got you out of there at least, but now we have to find Karkat. I'm not sure if he remembers completely or not."  
"Hmmmm. At least we know Doc Scratch doesn't have Karkles if he's looking for him."  
"Yes, and thanks to Roxy hacking some news channels we have her mad hacks on our side to help get Karkat. What did your parents say?"  
"They said he was going to the hospital but then they were called and told he was headed elsewhere. We need to figure out where though."  
"I'm on it." Roxy hopped onto the little laptop Terezi had. "His name was Carlos Vanpyro?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okie-dokie then!" Roxy set to typing, her fingers flying across the keys as different windows popped up and closed on screen. One screen remained as she pounded away. It popped up something and she went at it again. After what felt like eternity she sat back and looked over to us with a look that said things weren't good. "He's in a res'ch building. We got to sneak past cameras, guards, doctors, and them back out again. They stumble across us and were stuck there, and I can only hide one other person when I do my sneaky rouge thing."  
"We need to get in and out quick, so I'll go with you in so we can teleport Karkat out without us being spotted, but we have to still get in without being spotted."  
"How did you get me out?" John spoke up. "Can't you just teleport in and out like then?"  
"We tracked your scent. Karkat's scent will be a bit more different than his disguise. I can't remember his old scent well enough to track him like I did you. We actually have to go into the building and figure out where he is."  
"So, get past a locked and guarded door, through hallways, and find Karkat? 'Cept the guards would notice the door opening."  
"Maybe a distraction?" Jake suggested," Of course, it would have to be someone who could get away at any moment in case things take to bad of a turn."  
"I can do that." John spoke up. I knew what he meant- turning into the wind and appearing somewhere else if need be. "You guys just need to find Karkat."  
==} Be the running child  
This was a horrible idea. I took off around another corner, guards still behind me. I don't know what I was thinking agreeing to be the distraction, but I needed to be a distraction for as long as I could while they looked for Karkat. Once again they shot near my ankles.  
Whatever they are doing they need to hurry. I'm just glad I can run faster than these two. Another shot and I dodge to the side. They were getting to close to my legs, uncomfortably close with their shots. I hope Karkat, Roxy, and Jade were having better luck than me right now. These guys were not exactly good news.  
==} Continue trying to open the door  
I shook the door handle vigorously, still unable to get it open. Leave it to these people have the door locked. My ears perked up to the sound of the tumblers clicking unlocked. Now we had to sneak in. Another guard ran out the door a moment later, and I slipped inside with Roxy unnoticed. How to find him...  
I sniff for what doesn't smell human.  
==} Bang on the door  
I was banging on the door a while ago, but when they wanted me to stop they knocked me out. I wasn't sure I wanted to try that again, even if I could reach the door. I am not sure where I am, but I know for sure anything at this point can't be good news. The door opened, those who entered chattering away.  
"They still haven't stopped that child upstairs." The tallest guy in a lab coat hurriedly whispered to one of the assistants, who I refer to as Doctor A. He looked over my way. "Well, Carlos, having a good day?"

"Fuck off."

"That wasn't very nice Car."

"Well, could you stop calling me Carlos? I know it's my name, but Carlos is a stupid name."

"Well, what do you want us to call you then?"

"Karkat."

"Like the character?"

"Yeah. I made the character and play him on the show."

"Alright then." Doctor A replied, flipping through his papers. "Are you going to cooperate with us?"

"It depends on what."

"We need to move to a room further in the facility."

"Why?"

"There is a suspicious character about. Will you work with us?"

Walking down the hall? Maybe I could get away. "Fine."

"Great, so please don't try moving so much." He crouched down a moment, some clicks sounding, before going over to the other side of the bed thing and doing the same. A moment later he was rolling the thing out the door. He meant moving the medical bed, of course. I don't know why I thought they would let me out and about.

They seemed really concerned. They were constantly looking around and muttering. I don't know what they were worried about besides that kid. They left me in an empty room before leaving. I'm in a boring room again. The straps flipped open suddenly. "What the?"

"Sh!" Jade suddenly appeared along with Roxy. I didn't know what to say. "You know you can access your sylladex. I would suggest doing that."

I realized I was in a medical gown right now and it was not the best choice in apparel. I swapped into my usual sweater and sweatpants combo. In a flash we teleported away, and I saw Terezi, Dave, Jake, and an exhausted looking John. "You alright there Egbert?" I asked, looking down at the panting boy sprawled across the ground.

"I'm fine." John sat up. "Glad the distraction worked."

"Distraction?"

"Jade couldn't pinpoint your scent very well so I distracted the guards while she and Roxy snuck in to find you."

"What did you do?"

"I ran around the building until they shot my ankle. A moment after I got away you guys appeared, so it worked. Who are we finding next?"

"Hold it, found Dirk." Dave spun around his laptop around. Jake's face turned to surprise as he noticed the image.

"Wait, that's Dirk? I know that guy!"

"Really? What do you know?"

"That's my mate Danny! He lives up the street from me- well, he used to. I'm not sure what happened after Doc Scratch got me." Jake froze a moment, but was quickly back to talking as if he didn't notice. "I could go get him without a problem."

"Then there's no time to waste! I'll teleport us to the city right now." Jade teleported us to the city that was already familiar to me.


	10. Chapter 10

==} Miss your best friend

_"Jack! Jack you'll never belie-" I opened the door to his home, knowing he was probably still deciding what movies he was going to watch today. To my surprise, he wasn't in sight when I entered. Movies were scattered across the floor, glass shattered on the ground and some furniture knocked over. With Jack's luck a roo probably got in and wrecked up the place. I close the door, walking in further in. "Jack? Where are ya?" I heard a whimper from the kitchen, running in immediately._

_Jack lay sprawled across the kitchen floor, a cough letting red drip from his mouth. Jack didn't look right, his hair black and white dog ears and furred legs, and giant white wings. Feathers and red lay scattered across the floor with the occasional piece of glass. His eyes caught sight of my, and I knew to get back. I knew that look, and the risk of not paying attention had come to face me before on our adventures._

_"Well, will you talk Jake?" A smooth voice questions, footsteps sounding. A man in a white suit, blood speckled around the cuffs, reached down, grabbing Jack's collar. He lifted him by the collar with the other arm tucked behind him. Jack cried out in pain, and the huge gash down his front almost got a reaction from me, but I kept quiet. "I know you must have some clue where your dear friends are. Why not tell me and save yourself the trouble?"_

_"I really don't know! Please," Jack shock as he coughed again, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth," please stop."_

_"I need to know where your friends are. Anything you know."_

_"I really don't know! I-I don't!" Jack had tears streaming down his face. I had to do something, but what?_

_"I would kill you again, but it might be considered heroic that you're acting like this. Why not save me they trouble?"_

_"I don't know! I really don't know! Stop!"_

_"This isn't exactly a pleasant situation, nor how I want this nice chat to go. Tell me everything you do know?" Jack was just hiccuping now and shaking his head. "Plan B then, since I can't just kill you." The white suited man reached into his pocket and pulled out, much to my confusion, a bag of peanuts. It quickly clicked what he was doing._

_"Leave him alone!" I grabbed a lamp and threw it at the man's head. _

_That caught his attention. "Why hello there. And who might you be?"_

_"He's not involved! Leave him alone!" Jack shouted._

_"Well then, can't let someone uninvolved nose their way in." The white suited man started reaching in his pocket._

_Jack's eyes widened. "Run! Dan, go!" I took off out the door as I saw that it was a white pistol in the man's pocket. I dove down as I heard a click, a gunshot hitting the wall. Old style flint pistol as a main weapon? Who is this guy?! I bolted for the door, making it out as another shot hit the doorframe. I shouldn't have left him with a pistol-toting nut case. Jack, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._

It's been two weeks since the accident. The accident where I came home to see my best friend sprawled across the floor. The accident where all I could do was stand there as a man in a white suit hurt my best friend. The accident where I listened to Jack and ran until I couldn't run much longer. The accident where I should have tried to save him.

The train car bumped a bit, and I sat up. I had stayed at my aunt's house for those two weeks, but now I'm back home. My parents died last year, so it's just me at my house. No one has to know though. I keep myself afloat with little robotic gadgets and gizmos I sell on the internet, and it works so no need to drop out. Auntie wanted me to stay with her, but I turned her down since there's no place like home.

I turned the key to the lock, heading in and shutting the door behind me. Good thing I payed my bills online. I head up to my bedroom, exhausted from traveling all day. I flopped down on my mess off a bed.

"Well, if it isn't the boy who is not involved." Wait, that voice. I sat up, looking over my shoulder to spot the white suited man in the corner. He walked forward slowly, green eyes locked on me like they had been on Jack. "Nice to see you Dirk, or was it Dan you go by now?"

"My name isn't Dirk."

"I expected you not to remember, just like the others I've found."

"Is that why you hurt Jack?"

"Your friend Jack Griles wasn't who you thought he was, nor he thought he was. I am merely trying to help you remember."

"Then why was he bleeding like that?"

"He tried shooting me unfortunately."

"Like you tried shooting me?"

"I couldn't let you try to get help and intervene. It was harsh in retrospect, but I have learned my lesson."

"Who are you?"

"Call me Doc Scratch. I am here to help you remember who you are, if you are willing to except my help."

"Explain."

"I have something that will help you remember, but I'm not sure how well it works unfortunately. I do know a large portion of your memory will come back." He pulled a vial from his pocket, glowing green in color. "One drink and you'll remember, then if you answer my questions I will find a way to repay the favor."

"And what question would that be?"

"I'm looking for your old friends. They are runaways and have caused quite a bit of trouble."

"So, you're like some weird detective?"

"Precisely."

I eyed the vial a moment. "How do I know this isn't poison?"

"Why would I poison you if I need your help?"

I couldn't find a reason. "So you want me to drink this," I grabbed the vial from his outstretched palm slowly," and in return you'll help me?"

"Yes."

"Is Jack alive?"

"Yes he is."

"Can you take me to him?"

"I can if you answer my questions."

I looked at the vial. I knew this was a bad idea, that Jack was probably dead, and that if I remembered he would probably do what he did to Jack to me. On the other hand, there was an off chance the guy who tried to kill me was telling the truth. I hand him back the vial. "I don't know. This is a lot to take in so quickly."

"I'm willing to wait."

I didn't want to tell a crazy guy no, so I had to find a way out of this. "I'm going to get a drink."

"Alright." I notice him take a step back. As soon as I started leaving my room I noticed him following me. So much for escaping while he was distracted. I stuck to my word and got a glass of water, and I had to drink the whole thing with the creep still watching me. I went back to my room, the guy still following me. I flopped on my bed, a bit concerned he was just standing there watching me.

"Can't you come back for an answer tomorrow? I'm exhausted from travel, this is a lot to take in, and I don't know what to do."

"You should help me find them."

"But what if I get my memories back and it turns out I'm a dick? Or I was a terrible person? This is a lot to think about."

"We both know you really don't care about that. You just don't trust me because of what happened to Jake, or Jack as you called him."

"You want me to be honest? I come home, stressed, tired, exhausted, to find the guy who tried to kill me was waiting at my house saying trying to shoot me was just a mistake. You're creepy, I have no clue if you're telling the truth, and for all I know you could be trying to finish the job. If you are here to finish the job cut the crap and shoot already."

Doc Scratch just stood there. "If you need proof before trusting me, then proof you will get." He walked over to my work desk, picking up a hammer. He turned to me, flipping the hammer in his hand before nailing himself in his own face. The side of his face cracked like glass.

"Holy fucking shit. Don't scare a guy like that."

"You were scared? You were and still are expressionless."

"What the hell are you?"

"I was a first guardian, in my given memory, but I'm just a doll with a mind of its own." He set the hammer back on my desk. "Now do you believe me?"

"That is some hard evidence to argue with. You did just hit yourself in the face with a hammer."

Doc Scratch held out the vial to me. I gingerly took it, looking it over. This was a bad idea, pieces of my dreams coming to mind, that void session and unbeatable game, so I chucked it at the wall. He caught it of course, looking over to me.

"Dirk, why would you do that?"

"There is something wrong with that thing. I don't want to drink it."

"Don't you want me to help you find Jake?"

"I don't need your help. I'll find him somehow."

"I can't take no for an answer. As of late you are the only lead I have."

"What happened to Jack?"

"Turns out he has horrible memory considering he was unconscious often. Drink it."

"I'm not going to drink it."

"Dirk-"

"No, good night."

"It's mid afternoon."

"Fuck you." I grabbed the edge of the blanket and dragged it over as I rolled onto my side. The room was silent a moment.

"You leave me no choice Dirk." Next thing I knew he shoved me so I was on my back again, hand immediately moving from my shoulder to my forehead before I even could catch on to what he was doing.

"What are y-" I didn't finish before he poured the vial's contents into my mouth. I coughed and tried to breath, which was difficult with Scratch holding my mouth shut. I managed to shove him off, stumbling out of bed. I spun around and slammed the door as soon as I was out of my room, falling over as soon as it was closed in a coughing mess.

My chest hurt, and I just sat on the floor coughing from accidentally inhaling whatever it was Doc Scratch just poured down my throat. I didn't even hear the door open, and I didn't even know it opened until I was dragged back in by my shirt collar. I was caught between trying to breath and fighting back against the guy who could hit himself in the face with a hammer without even flinching.

He slammed me against the wall, staring me straight in the eyes. "Let go...of me." I coughed, twisting in his grip.

"You're going to tell me what you remember."

"I don't remember anything." He slammed me into the wall again.

"It didn't... work... I... I can't remem... ber." I still hadn't caught my breath. He stared at me, but he had stopped hurting me so I wasn't going to complain. I managed to catch my breath, still not comfortable with him staring me down. Suddenly I remembered.

I twisted from his grip, punching him square in the jaw. Of course he didn't even flinch, since my fist was probably weaker than a hammer. I heard a knock on the door, knowing that I couldn't let whoever it was get involved. I needed a weapon of some sort, which brought my mind back to the tools on my desk. I dodged around Doc Scratch, barely ahead of him. I grabbed the closest tool to me, spinning around and nailing him in the head with a screwdriver. I grabbed my hammer and hit him in the head. When I saw cracks I just repeated it until his head snapped open from all the cracks.

I dropped the hammer, heading over to the door. "Hey, uh, Danny, have you seen Jack around?" Alan got quieter as he went on.

"What? I just got back. I need to sleep."

"Can't you hear me? Jack's missing!"

"I know. I left because I went to his house and he was gone."

"You are alright Danny? You look different."

"I need to sleep. Bye Alan." I shut the door. What was I going to do? I have a dead puppet man thing in my room and I'm not who I thought I was. I get up, walking into the bathroom. My eyes were orange again, my hair returned to its light blonde, and I looked even more insanely pale. No wonder Alan was worried. Brown to orange probably freaked him out.

"That wasn't very nice of you Dirk." Doc Scratch sounded behind me. I spun around to get pinned to the counter. What the hell was with this guy?

==}Find your friend


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, this is Dirk's house." I stated, looking at the door of the house. "You know, it still blows my mind you've been here before."

"It is weird. Especially since this place doesn't look like Alternia, even at night." Karkat commented. "So, do we just knock on the door or what?"

"It might surprise him to see me." I heard something coming from the house. I immediately kicked down the door. "Dan!"

"Jake!" Dirk yelled. I bolted towards his voice, only to find Doc Scratch staring me down. Dirk hung limply by his shirt collar, blood dripped down his front and to a puddle on the floor.

"Hello Jake. I see you have your memory back." Doc Scratch yanked Dirk off his knees, a grunt of pain escaping Dirk's clenched teeth.

"Let him go!"

"Yelling at me works just as much as saying it without all the attention. I can't let him go you realize."

"What do you mean?"

"That was quite a trick you all pulled against Lord English, but not fair. Unfortunately, I need to figure out how to open the cage you all left him in when you cheated."

"What are you talking about?" Dirk asked in confusion. "If we beat the game we had to have killed English. There's no way to beat the game otherwise." I didn't know what to say. I can't say no because Dirk needs to know, but I can't say yes because then Doc Scratch would know I knew. "Jake?"

"How about a trade?" Doc Scratch looked over to me. "I'm leaving with either Dirk or you, so unless you take his place before the rest of your friends get past Gcat he will be carried off for questioning.

"What if I teleport him away with me?" Please don't call my bluff.

"If you could you would have done so by now. Jade hasn't because she doesn't know I'm here, and if you alert her I'm leaving with Dirk."

"But he doesn't know anything."

"I can get answers from him."

"Ooooooh, tough call Jake." Brain ghost Dirk pitched in. "Me or you? Brains or looks here?"

_Not you again_. I thought.

"Don't you miss me? Of course you don't. I'm so important to everyone else though."

_Dirk please, I'm trying to think_.

"Don't short out that pretty head. Besides, the others could probably use Dirk's help. You'd just sit nice and pretty the long battle."

_Why are you getting so mean?_

"I'm being realistic. You're looks, not big brain or brawn. Just save me."

_My friends need my help, too_.

"Calm down there, so battle hungry."

_Please stop_.

"You're so cute when you try to get feisty."

"I said stop!" I held my head. "Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! I know I'm useless, alright! I'm switching with Dirk! Everyone else needs his help more than mine anyway."

"Jake...?" Dirk's voice was very soft. I looked up to see his eyes wide, staring at me in surprise, his face looked like his heart just snapped. "Why... Jake... Why would you say that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I-" I didn't get to hear what Dirk said because suddenly Doc Scratch's arm was wrapped around my waist. "No! Let go of him!"

"Goodbye." Doc Scratch stated. Suddenly Gcat was in front of us and in a flash of green we were gone. He dropped me in a green chair. "So Jake, are you going to tell me what you know or are things going to be difficult?"

==} Think of what just happened

Jake just gave him self up to save me because he thought I was more important. Why would he say that about himself? I was, am, an idiot and he decides I'm more important? "Dirk! Hey, where's Jake?" John looks around. He stops, kneeling down. "Dirk, are you okay?"

"He took Jake."

"Who took Jake?"

"He called himself Doc Scratch." I coughed, immediately realizing it was blood again. "He said he was either taking me or Jake, so Jake said to take him."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to figure out how to free English."

"What?!"

"John- Dirk! What the hell happened?" Dave immediately dropped to his knees, gripping my shoulders. His hand went to my chest, and I hissed in pain. "Your ribs are busted up. What the hell happened?"

"It seems Doc doesn't take it lightly when you kill hi-" I coughed blood all over Dave. "Fuck."

"You killed Doc Scratch?"

"Yeah. Beat the shit out of me when he got up again."

"This can't be good."

"Dirk!" Roxy ran over. "Hold on!" She looked like she was really concentrating before some bandages appeared.

"Unless you're going to patch inside him it won't work." Dave moved to the side so Roxy could see what he meant.

"Hopy shit!" Roxy ran down the hall, coming back in time for me to cough blood on her shoes. As I blacked out I heard her saw," I know you from SBURB."

_His roar echoed through empty space. Caliborn, the evil little alien boy who asked for shitty pictures of my friends holding hands and threatened to kill his sister. For us, time had run out for his arrival. He had ripped his way through the dream bubbles._

_He was huge for one, not what I expected of a dorky kid at all. He towered over me easily, and I was already over six feet, he was built, mouth full of fangs in his green skull head. When the hell did he get built like this? Some kid bumped into me, and in a flash we both stood in an almost empty space._

_"Time for act three!" I heard a voice cackle. Horribly patched together green curtains dropped down everywhere. Terrible stick figures of me and my friends slowly moved, like they were being dragged on stage. Whatever this is, it sucks._

_"Not again!" The kid right behind me in blue moaned. He stormed past me and started trying to draw the curtains. "I've had enough of the drawing ripped off the internet and the incest for a whole lifetime! Draw the stupid green curtains already, I'm done with this!" What was going on here?_

"Dirk? Dirk, you okay there?" Jane asked.

"Jane? When did you get here?"

"Jade found me. I guess we have to fight him after all." Jane pulled me up from the blanket I was laying on.

"Can I talk to Jade?"

"No, she's getting Rose and Kanaya right now." Jane suddenly dropped her tone. "Dirk, what happened? What happened to you and Jake."

"Well, get settled for a long story." I took a slow breath. "I'm going to start when I went to Jake's to tell him about the newest robot I built. I was excited, so I let myself in..."

==} Think about it


	12. Chapter 12

Think? I think a lot, but right now thought just left my mind. Karina just pulled me into a deep kiss, although that barely seemed to last. How did she manage to catch me off guard like this only on our second date?  
"Excuse me, but I know you from SBURB." A girl, no, Jade smiled at me. "Do you know me?"

"Yes." Karina nodded. Wait, how did I not realize it was Kanaya?

"So, what were you two doing?"

"We fell in love. This was supposed to be our second date."

"You guys fell in love all over again? Your lives sound like a rom com." Jade grabbed both our hands. "Well, we've got to get going."

"What do you need our help with?"

"As it turns out, English has someone looking for us."

"Who?"

"A doll. It looks like Doc Scratch, acts like him, thinks like him, but it's different. No connection to the green sun and ripping him to shreds just stalls him. We still haven't found a way to kill him for good." Jade lead us outside, then to a back alleyway. "I'm teleporting you guys to where the others are. I've still got to get Aradia and Sollux then we have to rescue Jake."

"Wait, what happened to Jake?"

"Someone else will explain!" Jade replied quickly. "I need to hurry!"

In a flash of green I stood with Kanaya in front of my friends.

Dave looked over from where he was next to Jane, the two leaning over Dirk. "So," Dave started," I'm guessing you need me to explain?"

==} Find Aradia and Sollux

I probably should just ask Roxy for their names again, but then I would waste time searching through computers to find then. Besides, I was hoping that by some off chance Doc had caught on. If he was out and about I could follow him to Jake, kill to birds with one stone.

I knew they had to be around here somewhere, because I remember that I left them in this town under their false identities. I would sniff them out, but as long as they are in disguise I can't distinguish them from regular humans. I have to hand it to Roxy though, when she made the disguises she was thorough.

What did I have to go by? I sort of remember the faces. I remember something about the disguise for Aradia smelling warm, sort of a soft smell that had a bit of baked bread and spices mixed in. Sollux had smelt like flowers, dozens of them at once in a strong perfume. The two didn't exactly have unpleasant disguises to them, but the smell was supposed to be so even a dog's nose wouldn't catch something off. I needed to find places where those smells would be practically undetectable.

I went to the phone book, looking up all the florists and bakeries in town. The list was rather long for a town like this. I put the phone book back by the pay phone, wandering down the road. I guess I will just have to check them all. Many of them were in this district of town anyway, so it isn't like it's hard work visiting them all.

A cat hissed at me, and I had to catch myself when I started growling. I looked over, expecting some flea bitten, mangy fur-ball. Instead I found a sleek white cat with no eyes. Green crackled, and I knew immediately it was Gcat. Words flashed around in my head, like when I had tried talking to Becsprite.

**Mine.**

I recovered quickly, growling at the stupid thing. "What the hell do you mean?!" Gcat jumped on my head, green flashing. I stumbled over, looking across the floor at Gcat swaying her tail happily as rubbed her body against my leg.

**Mine.**

I kicked her. I hate cats, like no other has hated cats. If she ran I would chase her down and sink my teeth in her neck. Of course she caught me growling and took off down the hall. The chase began.

==} Be the terrified boy

Terrified? Terrified definitely explained right now. I was stuck in some crazy bird cage, the stupid thing swinging back and forth despite my efforts to make it stop. It probably was just to prove the point of 'locking English up was wrong', but honestly I couldn't barely think straight over the ticking of all these clocks. The walls were covered in clocks, so many the cage had to hang from the center of the room to not hit any of them.

Just as it stopped swinging, I slipped. The whole thing immediately sways roughly to the right, then to the left, then back again. I was definitely getting nauseous after not minutes, but several hours of this. At least I was getting better at not sending it swinging, but with That Doc Scratch fellow coming in and swinging the cage if I answer incorrectly it was difficult. On the bright side, this was better than the first interrogation.

I heard the click of shoes on the smooth flooring, immediately tightening my grip on the metal bars. "Hello Jake. Had a pleasant night's rest?"

"Please just let me out of here."

"I'll let you out when Lord English is out."

"Could you please stop swinging the cage then?"

"Could you tell me how to release English?"

"I don't know how! Please, I really don't know."

"Well, do any of your friends know?"

"One of them does."

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know quite a lot Jake. I find it strange that you don't." Doc reached out towards the cage, grabbing the bars. I kicked his hand not wanting him to swing it. He pulled his hand back quickly, then paced around the cage. I flinched when he yanked out a handful of my feathers, holding them in front of the cage. "Don't do that again. Do we have an understanding here Jake?"

I nodded quietly. He pulled the cage back and let it swing, walking away calmly. I tried stabilizing the swinging headache, trying to make it stop. At least brain ghost Dirk didn't show up again. I already am lacking room in here as it is with the cage being tall enough that the tips of my ears touch the top if I'm standing straight up in the middle. I could only lay down if I curled up in a ball and there isn't enough room to stretch my wings, so with fake Dirk becoming real in here I either can't sit or can't stand depending on where I was. My legs were shaking, and I didn't protest when I fell to my knees.

I haven't slept in thirty three hours according to the clocks, sixteen of which were from before Doc Scratch got me. I was about to sleep when Dirk started talking again. "I knew you had a thing for your furry aliens, but who knew it was contagious?"

"Dirk, please, I'm trying to sleep."

"Beauty sleep at a time like this? I'm getting lonely here Jake."

"This is serious Dirk. Just let me sleep."

I felt a hand stroke my ear, sitting up in a panic just to send the cage swinging. Great, he appeared again. Why did he have to show up so much? "Hot damn your ears are soft."

"I'm having an actual problem here!"

"Int-"

"Shut up!" I screamed. Glowing light filled my vision, and when it faded I was on the ground, surrounded by broken clocks on the shattered floor with metal pieces everywhere. I'm not sure what I just did, but I could finally sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

==} Look up from your book.  
"Hey Ava." Solly smiled, leaning on the bakery counter.  
I closed my book, setting it down on the counter. "You know I can't leave till five today. I'm working." I spotted the flowers in a familiar arrangement behind his back. "Making deliveries today?"  
"Yeth." He sighed.  
"Aren't you going to be late with those if you don't hurry?"  
"No. I have it under control. I just wanted to see if you were free today."  
"Nope. It's the start of break, remember?"  
"And the start of you spending it outside." I turned to see mom come over. "Now go."  
"Are you sure?"  
"It isn't exactly busy." She replied. "Spend today with your friend."  
I quickly tossed off my apron, walking out from behind the counter. "Thanks mom!" I ran out the door with Solly, the bell ringing as the door was flung open. I had always had this weird dislike for the daylight except when it was setting or rising on the horizon, and today was a very sunny day out. Solly delivered the flowers next door before coming back over.  
"Tho, no more flowerth for today. Want to go thee a movie?"  
"I'm not interested with the new movies. How about we go on an adventure!"  
He smiled a bit. "Whatever you say Ava."  
"I'll get my stuff real quick, then we can go."  
"How about I meet you at the corner? If were going to be gone all day I need to check on the beeth and get adventure thtuff."  
"How are the bees doing?"  
"Better now. Apparently thome athole tried thpra- god damn lithp- thpraying the hive box and that'th why they were having problemth."  
"You got him to stop?"  
"No, but I gave my brother five buckth to thpraying the guy back if he trieth today."  
"So, meet back up in five?"  
"Yeah. Be right back Ava." Solly headed back to his house. I walked over to the bakery, going around back to the stairs and quickly heading inside. My room looked out over the street in front of the shop, and for a moment I looked before pulling out my adventure bag. I checked the first aid kit, made sure I had my journal, put in my trust bull whip (just like Indiana Jones!), grabbed my wallet, made sure my lighter was still working, changed the flashlight batteries, changed my flats to hiking boots, and with a quick check to make sure my skirt was the already torn up one I left my room. I grabbed two water bottles from the fridge, some snacks, and made two sandwiches before racing out the door. I had to stop half way down the stairs to go back and grab my hat.  
"Ava, you better not ruin that skirt." My mom warned.  
"Mom, this the one that's already torn up."  
"Alright, but try to be careful this time or wear pants on your adventures."  
"No promises!" I ran down the block to Solly's house. I heard someone gasp in shock, so I looked up to the sound.  
"Ch-ch-chocolate?!" The neighbor on the roof sputtered, dripping in stick brown syrup. I tried not to laugh, but I sort of knew Solly's brother would do that. The man was sprayed again, drenched in more syrup.  
"I'm protec'or of da bees!" Solly's brother squealed excitedly, giggling when the man glared angrily at him. "Bees are impo'tant."  
"Like hell they are!"  
"Actually they are." I called to the angry man. "Besides, they aren't on your roof anyway, so leave them alone."  
"Leave 'em be Charles." Someone else yelled. The man grumbled, but he left the roof. It wasn't long before the Solly made his way to the front of the flower shop.  
"I made thandwicheth."  
"Wait, I thought it was my turn to make sandwiches."  
"Well, we have an athload of thandwicheth then! Where are we headed?"  
"How about the caverns?"  
"No one hath gone in and found there way out again in a long time, taleth of murdererth and outlawth hiding there, front lookth like a thkull, edge of town the cavernth?"  
"That's right."  
"Hold on, I've got to grab my buth path." He went back in a moment, then came back with his city bus pass in hand, quickly tucking the thing in his pocket. "Alright, let'th do thith thing. I need to be home by theven though."  
"Well if it isn't the creepy girl and her weird boyfriend." I turned to see Daisy, standing with her friends. "What are you two doing now?"  
"Going to the caverns."  
"No one goes to the caverns. What, do you want your boyfriend to hear your voice in his head? Or would it be vice versa?" The kids snickered.  
"We will be back by sundown, no worries."  
She tried shoving me, so I shoved her back. Her bag spilled everywhere. "Clean it up."  
I looked at her confused. "What do I look like, your maid? I don't have time for this, I have a bus to catch." I grabbed Solly's hand as we ran for the bus stop, the herd of angry teens running after us. After two minutes of running we saw the bus in view at the bus stop. We both barely made it, showing the driver our bus passes as the doors closed. The other kids were trapped outside it.  
"Well Midgeo, Cotupax, mind taking your seats and telling me why a bunch of angry children are right outside my bus?"  
"Just a small argument." I replied, sitting down next to Solly.  
"Small arguments don't cause a crowd of twenty." The driver shook his head. He blared his horn at the other kids, driving around them and down the road. It was quite a while of talking with Solly and watching the city pass by before we reached the end of the bus route at the edge of town. We hopped off waving good bye to the driver.  
It was a twenty minute walk before we were out of town completely, forty minutes until we had gotten to the lake, and another half an hour until we had gotten to the front of the caverns. It was silent except for the lapping water, occasional bird, and soft hum of insects. I stared up at the front of the caverns, edges dripping water and moss clinging to the rough surface. I pulled out my flashlight before we walked in, shoes splashing the puddles of water.  
The further in we went, the quieter the background noise of the forest grew. By the time the flashlight was the only light it was silent except for our breathing and our footsteps. "Thould we have put a rope? You know, to find our way back?"  
"I can tie it here. The cavern hasn't branched much so far, so we should be okay if we start with the rope lead now." I dug through my bag for a moment before pulling out a coil of twine. "This should go farther than the rope."  
"How long ith your rope?"  
"About 20 yards. The twine is 100 yards- 500 if I tie the five of them together."  
"Why do you have tho much twine?"  
"Because I thought we might need to do this to keep from getting lost." I tied it firmly around a piece of rock. "There, now we can find our way back. How about you hold the twine? I'll draw a map."  
We continued on exploring. We found an actual human skull at one point, but no spirit, next to a pack and a broken lamp. Solly snapped a picture of it with his iPhone and I marked the spot on the map I was drawing. Not long later we found some animal bones. I checked my watch and decided it was about lunch time, so we sat down and ate sandwiches. I put the animal bones in the box to add to my collection.

A bit more walking and we started to see some light. We couldn't be back at the entrance yet. I glanced towards Solly and his confused expression showed he didn't know either. I flipped through my journal map, but we shouldn't be anywhere near the entrance. We walked forward slowly, then we heard some voices. We both stopped, and I tried listening closely.

"Look, if they're here we should go looking for them. We are racing against Scratch here."

"We are supposed to stay put. Not all of us can just wander town."

"Well, I'll go find them. What were their names again?"

"Ava Midgeo and Sollance Cotupax. Honestly the worst disguise names."

"You come up with a bunch a' fake names some time. It's not e'sy."

I looked over to Solly, seeing he was just surprised and frightened as I was. I love adventure, but when you're life might be on the line it loses some of its appeal. On the other hand, LARPing is fun and probably would be more fun with more action to it. What was I thinking! That nightmare about FLARPing should be enough of a teacher that that is a bad idea. So many dead kids, and myself, dead. That doesn't matter right now! I need to make sure we both found our way back without getting caught.

I took a step back carefully, and Solly was following my lead. I slipped on some bones. "Wait, I hear something."

"What is it Jake?"

"Someone is down that way."

"Run!" Solly took off running and I followed suit. As I started outrunning Solly I grabbed his hand, trying to keep my flashlight on the ground so we could follow the twine. I was half dragging Solly as we tried racing out of the caverns. We had walked through for about two hours, but we ran the whole way out and we didn't stop. We kept running along the lake, through the forest, past buildings on the edge of town, and to the bus stop just as the bus pulled up for passengers. We ran on board and immediately collapsed on the benches.

"You to alright?" The bus driver asked.

"Drive! Go now!" The bus jerked forward as the driver went on his way. The rest of my memory is blurred together to the point I couldn't tell what happened. When I woke up I was at home in my bed, my bag set down next to my door. I sat up, immediately feeling my aching muscles protest my quick movement.

I got up and walked slowly to the bathroom, pulling up my now tattered skirt hem to see cuts all over my legs. The underbrush must have done it. I took off my socks, wrapping up my legs with bandages. Just as I finished I heard a knock at the door. I walked over, checking the peephole before opening the door to a man in a white coat. "Hello, can I help you?"

The man in the coat looked at me a moment. "Yes. Ava Midgeo, correct?"

"Yeeeees?"

"Come with me. I'm with the police department. We just caught wind off some outlaws who are looking for you."

"Really? Who are you?"

"Call me Doc Scratch. I've been following them long enough to know they are dangerous. You're in danger, so I'm taking you somewhere safe."

"What about my mom and Sollance?"

"Already taken care of." He held out his hand. "Come, we don't have much time."

This guy wasn't a cop. A cop would have shown his badge. "I'm just grabbing something really fast." I closed the door, hurrying to my room. I closed and locked that door before climbing out the window and up to the roof. The houses were close enough together I could go one roof to the other, just what I needed if I wanted to get to Solly.

==} Find Aradia and Sollux


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N: sorry for posting late!)**

I had gotten their scent, Aradia and Sollux's I mean, and I was the one who had to track them down. I am glad Gcat had brought me back from that horrible place, but trying to track people in town and stay hidden was a hard task for a winged dog boy. I'm still confused why Gcat helped me, but I need to find Aradia and Sollux. As it turns out, the two in the cave were who we were looking for as shown by the journal that fell out of Aradia's bag, the name Ava Midgeo scrawled across the inside cover.  
I wandered down the street, hoodie pulled over my head, trying to find one of them. I followed the scent trail, slowly finding my way to a small flower shop. I then spotted Sollux. "Hey, are you Sollance?"  
"Yeth, why?" He turned around a bit confused.  
"I found this journal while I was hiking and it mentions the names Sollance Cotupax and Ava Midgeo, so I wanted to return it."

He grabbed the journal, flipping through it quickly like he didn't think it was the actual journal they dropped. "How- you found thith in the foretht?"

"Yes. It is yours right?"

"Did you find anything elthe?"

"No."

"Why are you talking to that freak?" I turn to see some teens staring at me like I was crazy.

"What?"

"If you talk to him you'll catch his crazy. If you don't know that you must be new around here."

"I am. First time in the states."

"States? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Australia."

"Well 'ello there mate!" The girl sounded really stupid all of a sudden.

"Okay. Nice to meet you, but I'm still talking with Sollance."

"Are you trying to get pulled into his weird craziness? He claims to hear the voices of people about to die."

"I know that."

They stared like I lost my mind, and for a moment I checked over myself to make sure my disguise hadn't slipped up. "Your a freak too!"

"That's rude don't you think?"

"It's a fact! You probably think you hear the dead, too." She shoved me, to which my hood fell back to reveal my ears. A bunch of the kids screeched and screamed and I had to scramble to cover up my ears, almost whimpering at the ringing and pain in my ears from all the noise. "He's got cat ears!"

"Dog." I corrected in a quick whimper.

"What?!"

To late to stick to plan a, they already saw. Might as well just get going. I couldn't tell Sollux 'I know you from SBURB' right now without him turning into a troll in front of everybody, so might as well go for plan b. I'm just going to have to scare the geebies out of all these teens. I pulled my hood and shoes into my sylladex and unfurl my wings wide. Several of them ran immediately. I grabbed Sollux, knowing I had to come up with something. Come on Jake, think of something to knock their socks off.

"I...uh... am taking the your towns protectors, never to be seen again!" I howled like some villain and took off. I really wish I had planned ahead for this.

"Let go off me athole! Help!" Sollux shouted. I went back to where Roxy was hiding, both of us now invisible.

Roxy was laughing. "Wow Jake."

"I panicked, alright? It's not my fault I suck at plans on the fly."

"Oh. That wasn't the plan?"

"No, it wasn't. The plan was to get Sollux and Aradia without being noticed before Scratch could get then."

"What'th going on?!" Sollux was still trying to wiggle free of my grip.

"I know you from SBURB." Suddenly Sollux stopped struggling, remembering us. "Your plan thucked athole."

"Good ta see ya too." Roxy replied. "Sollux, we need to get Aradia, of course we can't send Jake to get her now."

"I would get AA, but I'm a troll."

"I'll disguise you as you were." A moment later the troll looked human again.

"I can get AA. Can you mark my thhoulder or thomething tho it lookth like I ethcaped crazy dog man over here." He motioned to me. Roxy giggled, but she changed his disguise so it looked like he had claw marks running down his shoulder and the back of his arm.

Sollux began looking for Aradia while Roxy and I followed hidden by her rouge powers. The kids from earlier were now worried about him, and he told them he need to find Aradia before the monster came back to attack her. They all agreed to help look for her either out of concern or the fact that Sollux said he and Aradia would run as soon as she was found. Either way, Aradia was found in a matter of minutes.

I had to play the villan again. Roxy let me appear again. "I found you both!" I grabbed both of them, disappearing as soon as I had them. The other kids were screaming and running away, which honestly would be hilarious if it weren't for the fact Scratch had seen us. The only thing more unnerving was that a slight smile was on his face as he stared at us as the crowd of teens ran screaming scared and surprised. It was frightening to think he might be able to see us right now, but that can't be possible.

"I know you from SBURB." I said to Aradia. She blinked a few times before remembering. "That was quite the plan Jake."

"He didn't plan it." Sollux huffed.

"Can we just hurry it along? You guys are heavy."

"Hold on Jake. We just need to wait a moment for Jade to do her part of the plan."

A moment later we teleported away in a flash of green.

==} Work on the plan


	15. Chapter 15

We have everyone now, we knew that Scratch was after us on English's behalf, and that we have to end him. Not just Scratch, but English couldn't be kept in a cage so we wouldn't have to fight him. Of course that meant going back into the medium and having John and Calliope end English while all the rest of us could do is keep English distracted.  
John and Calliope were acting like they were up for it and happy doing so, but they both seemed too upset for that. After all, Calliope was the only one who could hold up in a fight against English and John was the ultimate weapon against English and it's not like either position is great to be in. Calliope talked a lot more with Roxy, but other than seeming nervous was fine. John on the other hand just stayed curled up next to Dave not talking to anyone else until they talked to him. I'm pretty sure that isn't considered a calm or healthy reaction. If it hadn't been for his claim of 'I'm not a homosexual', the way he was hanging out with Dave made them seem much closer than just bros. Maybe it's a coping thing to get friendly with bros, I don't know. At least it will be over soon.

"Dirk, please tell me we found a way back into the medium."

"Yes, but something doesn't seem right. The entrance isn't up in the air but in the middle of a building. The place is abandoned, labeled unstable, and no doubt Scratch is already waiting their for us."

"It doesn't matter if he is. We just need Sollux and Jade through. Once they can get in the medium the can reopen the other gateways so Scratch, no matter how much he teleports around, can't keep us all from getting through."

"Yes, but he can still stop one, and if he catches someone they aren't exactly going to be in a friendly chat with him. You saw Jake when he got to us."

"At least they won't be dead. Doc Scratch wasn't the kind of guy to kill, instead he passive-aggressively got someone else to do it like an asshat."

"Either way, we can't let him get Calliope or John. No matter what they need to get into the medium or we can't beat English."

"On the matter of John, is he okay?"

"No, but Dave is handling it."

"I just want this thing to be over, then John won't have to worry about this, or Calliope, or anyone else and the connection to the medium will be shut off for good."

"What, and you'll smile for once, be happy?"

"I'll smile and be so god damn happy I might explode from pure unadulterated joy, and all of you will just be at loss for however long your attention spans last."

"You won't explode."

"You get the point."

After this we wouldn't need to hide anymore. Of course, it's not like being an actor was a bad thing, and Terezi had fun with it as well, but it's better not being one of the pink monkeys.

==} Plan  
Plan? My motherfucking thinkpan could barely keep straight all the thoughts in my fucking head long enough to find a plan that wasn't shit. I had so many ideas, so many motherfucking ideas, but none of the shit that presents itself in my head would be any use to English. It would take a miracle to clear my head, but most miracles are bullshit lies and I don't believe in them, not anymore. Not since the last fake miracle I believed in cut off my own mOTHERFUCKING HEAD! I slam my fist hard into the wall, smiling as the sounds of creaks of metal reached my ears like sweet music. I could barely stand seeing the white of my new eyes reflecting off the dented metal surface and punch the wall with my other fist.  
I would bash in their heads when I got my fucking hands on them, especially the mutant fucking candy red freak. How could I have thought I could trust my morail when he wasn't even that anymore? He was my little miracle, and as soon as he saw me lay hands on the teal bitch he had such a fucking rage in his eyes. I can't trust anyone anymore except for my fucking self and my wicked dancestor and of course Lord English. Not even the pink bitch.

Speaking of which, Kurloz stood in the doorway. "What is it motherfucker?" I calmly walked up to him.

"I have found them." His telepathy rang in your thinkpan. "The chucklevoodoo is ready."

"Then the fuck are you waiting for!?" I growled. I quickly regained my cool," Why not catch them now while they are all up and terrified?"

"The cat is starting to work against us."

I grabbed my club. "I'll kill that mangy cat!"

"That cat is a first guardian and we need the cat's assistance."

"Why would that be?"

"To make it seem like it's really the white text guy you said messed with your session."

"Are they scared? Are the cowering like they should be?!"

"Terrified."

"Then let us play this game oh so motherfucking carefully and break the cage my brother."

He left and all I could do was smile. They had called themselves my friends, they had let me eat that poison all those years, doubted me, looked down on me, betrayed me. All this time I let my so called friends get away with such blasphemy. Oh, how they would realize their mistakes, especially when that fucking piece of shit was reduced to a pile of mutant blooded pulp.


	16. Chapter 16

**(AN:**** sorry for the delay!)**

==} Engage the plan  
"Jade snuck by with Sollux and Calliope before we couldn't get past, so we are doing better than planned. Now we just need to make sure John gets in at minimum." I paced in front of everyone. "Since the saying goes 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' I will team up with John to make sure he gets in. Yes, Dirk human."  
Dirk dropped his raised hand. "Can I team up with Jake?"  
"What, why?"  
"He's nervous."  
"He should be able to get through one of the entrances to the medium on his own, and the more spread out the harder for Scratch to catch more of us."  
"I know, I helped plan this remember? But, I want to team up with Jake. It will up his chances of making it by a significant amount if I team up with him."  
"Fine, go ahead." Dave raised his hand. "Yes Dave?"  
"Can I go get apple juice or are we still planning right now?"  
"You're staying here until I say we finished going over the plan. Also, how the fuck did you just go threw five bottles of apple juice?"  
"I was thirst, like you."  
John raised his eyebrows. "You put those back down!" John looked confused, but he no longer had his eyebrows raised. "What is with you and raising your eyebrows? You know what? I don't care, as long as we can get us all safely into the medium. Anymore questions? Yes, Dave again. What is it this time?"  
"Is mayonnaise an instrument?"  
"What the fuck kind of question is that? How rusted does your thinkpan have to be to think your human mayonnaise is an instrument?!"  
"Just answer the question."  
"No, mayonnaise is not an instrument. It is a slimy white condiment humans seem to be obsessed with putting on everything. What, did you not go to human school, which is for humans and learning this?"  
"A kid put mayonnaise in a recorder once and played it and it sounded weird."  
"How are humans still around when you constantly do stupid things? What fresh hell was that Strider?"  
"American public school."  
"Well, it sounds horrible."  
"If you think that's horrible then you would definitely be shocked by the fact that I once saw akid drink a bottle of glue and down glitter so his insides would sparkle."  
"Are you fucking kidding me? How old was this child, where was the teacher, why would you let someone do this?"  
"The kid was six, I was six, and the teacher was on the phone."  
"I'm fucking done. Did you at least learn something?"  
"Yeah. The vending machines at school suck ass. All they have are healthy snacks and half of them are broken."  
"I'm not sure I like hearing about your education institutions."  
"So, are we done?"  
"No we are not."  
"Karkles," Terezi huffed," we've been going over the plan for four hours. Can we go get ready? I remember Jade saying they were going to give us five hours prep time."  
"Fine, go get ready." Everyone rushed off to get ready, except for me and John. John was ready, already in his god tier clothes and ready to go. "You ready John?"  
"I don't think I can ever be ready."  
"You know what John? I liked you before you had to worry about being the ultimate weapon. If I could I would kill English so you wouldn't have to deal with him, but unfortunately it's physically impossible for me to do that. I know you can do this though, despite whatever you seem to have in your head."  
"Thanks Karkat."  
It didn't take long for everyone to get ready. The ways back into the medium opened up, and we all sped off for different ways. I stuck with John though, because I had to be sure he made it through into the medium or we couldn't beat English. It seemed like Scratch was after someone else or missing in action. Of course I was proved wrong.  
Scratch was ahead of us not a moment later. I immediately blocked Scratch watching John slow down. "Run! Go now!" I shouted, John hesitating a moment before entering the medium.  
"I see." Scratch grabbed me by the front of my shirt and lifted me up.  
"Put me down!" He then threw me hard against the floor. I sat up just as he grabbed my shirt collar again. This wasn't right. Scratch was a passive-aggressive egotistical asshat, but he didn't as far as I know he didn't fight any of his battles. He manipulated people to fight, so why was now different from then?  
"Something wrong Karkat?"  
"Who are you?"  
Scratch froze, taking a moment. "I'm sorry, but do you not recognize me?"  
"The Scratch I knew wouldn't act like this. So I repeat, who the fuck are you?!"  
Scratch raised me to eye level, my feet to far from the ground for comfort. "Well heretic, I promised my invertebrother I wouldn't kill you before him."  
"What?!" I couldn't seem to pull free off his grip. "Who did you promise? Who?" Scratch just started walking, dragging me behind him. "What were you talking about?! Answer me!" He didn't say a word. Where was he taking me? He refused to say a word, and I had no clue what was going on. What did he mean he promised not to kill me first? I am god tier, so he can't just simply kill me... but then again he did say he wasn't going to kill me first. And he called me a heretic.

Next thing I knew I felt something hit my head, blinking and rubbing my head to realize I was back on the meteor at one of the computers. Wait, I've had this conversation with Gamzee I realize, looking at the screen. It was right before I had sent Equius to deal with the now sober Gamzee. Oh, how that had been a horrible idea.

I jumped back from the computer. "What the hell?" I spun on my heel as soon as I felt someone behind me. I looked up to see Gamzee's dancestor, his name was Carlos or something. That meant I was in the dream bubbles. "Hello."

He smiled, then motioned for me to follow him. I didn't exactly have anything else to do, so I followed him. He lead the way down the hall, the further we went the more blood I saw across the walls. "Where are we going?" I felt stupid moments later, because the guy can't answer me since his mouth is sewn shut. I just had to keep following.

At one doorway, he turned to me and motioned into the room. "You want me to go in this room?" He nodded and, while I had a bad feeling about this, I walked into the room. The walls were splattered in blood and bike horns sat in small piles or just scattered across the floor. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing some severed heads as well. Just as I thought it couldn't get worse, I spotted the tall familiar horns just beyond Tavros' severed head.

"Well, if it isn't the candy red traitor." Gamzee turned to look at me with white eyes. He stood up, walking towards me. I tried backing up, only to realize Gamzee's dancestor was blocking the way out. "Look at me you fucking mutant!" Gamzee punched me in the stomach and sending me sliding to the side. He grabbed my hair and pulled me to my feet roughly before smiling. "I had thought you were my little miracle Karbro, all the fucking way up until you had to all up and betray me." He ran a hand along the side of my face slowly. "So I've got a few words for you, including that now you are motherfucking mine."


	17. Chapter 17

==} Roll call time  
"John, check. Dave, check. Rose, check. Aradia, check. Kanaya, check. Jake, check. Dirk, check. Jane, check. Terezi, check. Uh guys?" i asked the group.  
"Yes Jade?" Dave asked.  
"Where's Karkat?" I looked over the group another time, but Karkat couldn't be seen.  
"Scratch showed up. He told me to keep going." John looked to the ground in embarrassment, obviously blaming himself.  
"Don't worry John, we'll get him back soon, but we also need to beat English. Can you take us to English?"  
John didn't seem excited by it, but do to him being able to jump around all kinds of different places and timelines, he could actually put the fight in a timeline where English had less of the advantage. That, and Dave has a special hammer for John that stops time, also very helpful in this case. I am really curious where Karkat is, and after a quick glance towards Jake I'm wondering what's happening to him.  
Something popped into my head. "Hold on guys. I've got something to do a moment. I'll be right back!" With that I left to get Karkat.  
It didn't take long to realize that he was in the medium with us.  
==} Run  
Dream bubbles. That's the only explain for why Gamzee is standing here. I killed him, I felt my sickle slice through his neck. From the way he's staring me down he definitely remembers what I did to him. If Gamzee wasn't holding me in the air right now I would be down the hall in a heartbeat. "Gamzee..."  
"Listen to me you fucking traitorous mutant piece of shit!" Gamzee roared in my face. The anger drained suddenly from his face. "I trusted you motherfucker. I thought you were my moirail, but you up and left me." He seemed lost a moment.  
"You failed to be a moirail for me, Gamzee. Moirailship goes both ways, but for us it was just me trying to help you."  
"You didn't need me, I needed you!"  
"Not everything is about you asshole! You were going to kill Terezi, and don't get me started on all the things you did to her."  
"It was fine."  
"You were out of control!"  
"I don't need control!" He threw me into the wall. I was starting to get up when I had to duck to the side as a club slammed down where I had been. Gamzee was definitely angry to saw the least, and with how he kept trying to land one of the clubs' blows on my head I don't want to stick around. I need to get out or wake up, but with Gamzee's dancestor blocking the way out I need to find a way to wake up fast.  
I fall over, leg buckling only to realize that the throbbing pain in my ankle was from a blow to the ankle. I can't kill someone who's already dead, I need to wake up, and I don't want to get beaten with clubs. I whip out my sickles in time to stop a blow from a club to the head, but it knocked me back.  
Next thing I knew I was staring at Jade's face. "Karkat? What are you doing here? We thought Scratch had you."  
"It's not Scratch."  
"Who is it?"  
"Gamzee and his dancestor. They were controlling that thing from the dream bubbles." I got up, glad my broken ankle was just in the dream bubbles. "I don't know why they're trying to help English, but I know Gamzee is mad."  
"Mad as in angry or mad as in crazy?"  
"Both. Definitely both. I'm just happy to be out of the dream bubbles right now."  
"Well, let's go." Jade snapped her fingers, and in a flash of green we both were in the middle of the group. They seemed a happy to see me, and John hugged me so he was very happy to see me right now.  
"I thought Scratch got you!" John's hug was incredibly tight, and if it hadn't been for the fact he was shaking I would have told him to stop trying to squeeze me to death. I'm not really sure what to say to him. Was he that worried, or scared to face English? I just don't know.

"That wasn't Scratch. Gamzee and his weird dancestor, Carlos, did it."

"I don't think his name is Carlos."

"Shut it Strider. Either way, we need to kill Lord English and get out of the medium. I don't think anyone needs a reminder that this place is a hellhole."

"But can't we just seal off the medium for good?"

I eyed John. "What do you mean? We already tried that and it didn't work."

"But, what I did one of my jumps again? They always change something, something important, like a change so English being trapped counted as beating the game!"

"What?" Everyone was surprised, but Dave was the one who said what was on our minds. "That wasn't always an option?"

"No, but I didn't want to see you guys die, so I tried my jump thing and that's what happened."

"That explains it." Jade seemed to think. "John, change everything."

"What do you mean."

"Can you do the paradox jump thing to make sure SBURB never existed?"

"But what if-"

"We don't have many options. We can get try to get rid of the dream bubbles, kill Lord English, or you can try that. If SBURB didn't exist all the people on the planet when the meteors struck wouldn't have died, our friends, the people in countless dead sessions, those two entire universes, the people who live in the medium. If we get rid of the dream bubbles the dead can't find ways to reopen the medium, but then all the other dead are gone forever. And I hate to say it, but if we fight Lord English will still stand the chance of dying ourselves."

John looked like he was about to say something, but then he took a step back. In a flickering flash everything faded to white.

==} wake up

A young man wakes up on his bed. His name is John Egbert, and for some reason he is crying. It's because five years ago today he was supposed to play a game, a game that doesn't exist anywhere but his memories. He can't tell anyone about this game, he can't use powers from this game, and he can't contact some of his friends from this game, because he isn't even sure if they are even real anymore.

There is only one thought in his head as he isn't sure if his tears are of joy or grief:

Game over


End file.
